


Pokemon Journey in the Justiceverse

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: LJ and Zofia begin to crave going adventures like when their parents were younger. Luckily an answer comes to them in the form of magical and unique creatures known as Pokemon who are monsters who fight each other. They soon join 10-year-old Ash Ketchum and his younger sister Emi as they begin their very own Pokemon journey and become friends and get their very own Pokemon.





	1. Chapter 1

It seemed to be a normal, lazy day so far as the kids sat around and hung out among each other. The younger kids sat on the ground and stared out at the clouds as they all had one thing on their mind: the life of an adventurer. The life of an adventurer always sounded so exciting and amazing. To meet new friends all around the world or other worlds, go up against some bad guys who try to ruin a happy ending, and try out new experiences outside of just sitting around at home all day. Of course, the lazy and normal day proved to be boring, but one just had to wonder what would start the adventure and where would they end up?

"Darn it, I gotta know~!" LJ groaned, lying upside-down. "This new adventure thing _has_ to start sometime! But when...?"

"I guess we just have to be patient." Zofia replied with a light sigh.

"Maybe we should see what the teenagers are doing." Sandra shrugged.

"Hopefully they're adjusting to being here..." Ichabod remarked as they each got to their feet and went to check it out.

The young group soon got up and went inside.

"I don't know much about teenagers myself, but I guess it's worth checking out," Creepie replied as she followed after. "My cousins Winnie and Wanda are teenagers."

"I don't think I've seen them around your house." Zofia remarked.

"They don't visit as often," Creepie said. "They're straight from Dad's side of the family though."

They soon came into the house to check on Felicity and her friends who were now live-in friends after they left their old neighborhood which was a bit dangerous with crime everywhere, even with young kids trying to mug adults for their money.

"Hey, guys," LJ said, poking his head inside. "How you doing?"

"Hm? Oh, we're fine," Felicity replied. "Just helping the gang get settled."

"Yeah, we're just bored a little," Jay said as he sprawled on his new bed with his arms behind his head. "You got anything cool to do?"

"Unfortunately, we do not," Zofia sighed. "Guess we're all in a heap of trouble."

The groups groaned a bit as they were left with nothing to do before the phone rang, so Cherry decided to answer it while the kids were all bored with nothing to do.

"What do we do?" Zofia groaned before falling back with LJ in the middle of the floor.

"Heck if I know... Patience, schmatience..." LJ groused. "Maybe Kimberly will come over... Dunno if that'll make things less boring, but it's better than nothing..."

"Kids?" Cherry called from downstairs.

Felicity, LJ, and Zofia peeked their heads out the door all at once.

"Akito just called," Cherry replied. "His mother needs some sugar. Could you get some out of the pantry and deliver it over to their house?"

"Sure, Mother," Zofia sighed. "It'll be an interesting change of pace out of the monotony."

"Can-do, Mom-a-roo," LJ yawned as he went to the pantry.

Sandra got onto Ichabod's shoulders, and LJ got on Sandra's shoulders and opened the pantry door to get the sugar out. Felicity walked over to keep an eye on them.

"At least they're not bored anymore." Cherry chuckled to herself as she went into the other room.

"For now, at least," Lionel pointed out.

After retrieving the sugar from the pantry, the kids made the walk over to the Fudo house.

* * *

Akito waited out on the front porch as he read an old Superman comic book to pass the time.

"Hey!" LJ and Zofia called out.

"Ah, good, you're here," Akito replied as he took the sugar. "I have a confession to make."

"And that is...?" asked LJ.

"I had a special dream last night." Akito replied.

"A dream?" Zofia asked. "You wanted us to come over because of a dream you had?"

"My dreams are very different from most people," Akito said. "My dad thinks that it might be a vision actually."

"Well... Okay..." Zofia then shrugged. "You wanna tell us?"

"Sure," Akito replied as he led them inside of the house as he came to put away the sugar as his mother really did need sugar, but he also invited them over for another reason. "I had this dream about these strange creatures. I'm not sure if they're animals or alien mutations or whatever, but they all looked pretty interesting to me, especially with these two new people I hadn't met or seen before. I couldn't make out their faces or names, but they seemed important."

"Okay," LJ replied. "At least stuff is happening with you. Meanwhile, the rest of us are at home, bored out of our heads _waiting_ for _something_ to happen."

"I'm not finished~" Akito crossed his arms as he shut his eyes briefly.

"Sorry." LJ mumbled from that.

"Anyway, Dad's gonna go talk with that guy Drell about my dream and/or vision which could lead into a possible new adventure for all of us," Akito then continued. "He said it would take some time, but to tell you guys as soon as possible, and then he asked me to get some sugar for Mom, so I called your mom and she called you, and then you guys came over here," he then concluded before putting his hands on his hips. "Now I'm finished."

"So... What you're saying is... It isn't happening yet..." LJ chuffed, handing the sugar off to Akito. "Figures, the one time we _need_ something cool to happen..." he grumbled.

"You do realize my dad's pretty fast, right?" Akito asked. "He might come right back with something right at the moment. You don't know what could happen."

Suddenly, the house shook a bit before a door upstairs shut and Atticus was coming down the steps.

"Well, well," Akito smirked victoriously. "Looks like someone owes someone an apology."

"...Fine," LJ groaned. "I'm sorry that I doubted you."

"Just try not to let your boredom get to you," Akito advised before looking over. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, kids," Atticus smiled a bit. "Sorry that took so long, Akito."

"It's okay, Dad, we just all feel a little bored," Akito replied. "So, what did Drell say?"

"Well, Drell says it sounds like it's time for you guys to learn about these unique and mysterious creatures known as Pokémon." Atticus informed.

"...Okay," LJ replied. "And this is meaning... What, exactly?"

"He wants to have a word with you guys," Atticus informed. "This could be very good for you."

"Well, at least today isn't so boring anymore." Zofia said to LJ.

"He also said that you especially should be involved with this, Akito." Atticus then told his younger son.

"Probably because of my vision." Akito guessed.

"Well... Alright," LJ replied. "Let's go in and see for ourselves."

"You might as well." Atticus nodded.

Akito led LJ and Zofia upstairs and they went through the linen closet which was a doorway into the magical world.

* * *

As they opened the door and closed it behind them, there was a thunder rumble with some lightning shown out the door cracks as they soon found a foggy room that had a giant apple tree as Drell was lifting some weights in the background, grunting slightly. LJ cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Ah! Children..." Drell greeted before moving the weight. "You came."

"We just had to get out of the house." Zofia replied.

"Right, right," Drell said before using his magic to change the scene and his clothes to show what looked like a classroom with desks and a chalkboard as he was dressed like a teacher with a graduation cap and they were all seated. "You are about to be shown a world of different possibilities. It shall be educational, engaging, and hopefully not boring. I hope you pass this information along with your family as it's very important."

"Alright, sure," LJ replied.

"Bring it on, sir." Zofia added.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Drell replied before the lights dimmed. "Skippy! Bring in the video footage!" he then commanded.

Skippy tipped his hat as he came inside, grunting a bit as he carried an overhead projector which seemed a bit heavy for him before he planted it onto an empty desk and walked off, holding his sore back and went to get himself a cup of water. There was soon video footage of what looked like strange and bizarre creatures, unlike animals you would normally see in the world like cats, dogs, horses, mice, or fish or anything else like that as they appeared to be fighting each other.

"Oh! They're hurting each other!" Zofia flinched.

"Relax, it's all part of the world of Pokemon." Drell reassured her.

"Yeah, and animals tend to fight each other," LJ explained. "It's just nature."

"So they're not badly hurt?" Zofia asked Drell.

"This is just their biology," Drell replied. "I'll explain more later."

Zofia nodded as she kept trying to watch the video while Akito looked entranced by the many kinds of Pokemon.

"MAN! Oh, wow!" A black-haired boy was soon shown and cheered which made the kids curious of him.

"This is Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town," Drell informed as the boy cheered at his video screen. "Ash is almost 10-years-old. When youngsters with aspirations to become Pokmon Trainers turn 10, they can choose their first Pokemon from Professor Oak," he then pointed out three Pokemon on the boy's poster which had a toad-like creature, a salamander-like creature with a flaming tail, looking like a small dragon, and a turtle-like creature. "They can choose from Bulbasaur... Charmander... And Squirtle. Then, they can begin their exciting journeys as Pokmon Trainers!" he then concluded that bit of information.

"Good thing I'm not 9!" LJ exclaimed. "Otherwise that would _really_ suck right about now!"

Drell chuckled a bit from that.

"But it's night time," Akito realized. "How do we help this kid if he's gonna be asleep?"

"Simple, this is footage from last night," Drell replied. "I'll take you to his home as he goes to meet the one called Professor Oak when the morning rises for him to start his Pokemon journey. As well as yours and your siblings." he then added to all of them as they came without their other brothers and sisters.

"And our friends... Right?" LJ asked.

"Sure, sure." Drell replied.

"Well, this should be intriguing," Zofia said. "Thank you, sir."

"Just gather them around and I'll help you get to Pallet Town to start a brand new adventure." Drell told them.

"I think we can do that," LJ replied. "We just have to get home and tell them." And he quickly ran out the door.

"Thank you for seeing us." Akito said to the warlock.

"Don't mention it," Drell replied before he sat down behind the large teacher's desk. "I'm sure you'll all enjoy it very much."

"Superb!" Zofia nodded before she went after her brother and as did Akito.

* * *

LJ was running home so quickly that he accidentally bumped into Kimberly, knocking them both down.

"Oh, jeez! I am _so_ sorry!" LJ exclaimed, helping her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Kimberly replied. "So what's up?"

"Well... I was just so excited cuz my friends and my sisters and I get to have awesome adventures now!" LJ exclaimed. "...Would you want to come with us?"

"Hmm... I guess that would be alright," Kimberly replied. "Beats standing around here all day."

"Then let's go!" LJ declared, bringing her back to the house.

Kimberly giggled. "Somebody's really excited."

But then again, who could blame him after a long, dull week so far?

* * *

The teenagers soon found themselves a bit bored as they hung out in a big room that was made for all of them, sort of like a rec room. Carlos typed at his laptop aimlessly, Evie painted Mal's fingernails who in response stared off into space, and Jay stared out the window, a bit grimly.

"Come now, I'm sure something interesting will happen." Felicity said to her best friends.

"Guys! Guys!" LJ exclaimed as he burst inside. "Something exciting is totally gonna happen!"

The teenagers yelped slightly from his outburst as Felicity put her hand over her heart.

"Kid, have you ever heard of knocking?" Mal complained.

"I'm sure he's sorry, Mal," Evie told her before looking at LJ. "What's up?"

"We all gotta get to the Fudo house now!" LJ exclaimed. "You guys wanted an adventure, right? Well, we're all about to get one!"

The four teens looked at each other.

"Come on!" Felicity told her friends. "This oughta be good."

"Let's go then!" Carlos, Mal, and Jay agreed.

"WAAAAIT!" Evie called out as she took Mal's left hand again. "I gotta finish the top coat."

Mal rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright..." she replied, sitting back down.

LJ left the room and began pacing about the floor.

"So an adventure sounds good," Carlos said to LJ. "...Is there free WiFi?"

"Yes, yes," LJ replied. "Of course! Now let's get a move on before this window of opportunity closes!"

Mal blew on her wet nails quickly as she followed after the others.

"Wicked," Creepie remarked. "A new adventure. Chris-Alice probably couldn't take it if she were with us."

"You ever think you might tell her your secret?" Zofia asked her friend.

"I'm not sure if I wanna risk that sometimes," Creepie shrugged. "Her dad's an exterminator."

"Good point," Zofia nodded. "Now c'mon!" she told her friend who followed behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Drell and Skippy waited for the kids to come back so they could start a brand new adventure together.

"So, as I was saying about Hilda, I drew this picture of us together," Drell said, showing his friend a paper that was a crayon drawing of him, looking like a big and strong buff guy you would see in a gym equipment commercial with Hilda latching onto him in a frilly, white gown with their hair flowing in the wind. "Do you think she would like this? Hang on the fridge material? Do you ship us, Skippy?"

Skippy paused thoughtfully before he opened his mouth.

"Quiet, Skippy, I think we're about to have some visitors." Drell then said as he turned away suddenly.

The kids all clambered into the room.

"Okay... Everyone is here..." LJ panted, wiping his forehead. "...Ready... When you are...!"

"Hm... A bit more than I expected... But I guess it should work out either way." Drell replied.

"Do you grant wishes?" Evie asked. "Are you an angel?"

"Evie, what the heck?" Mal deadpanned.

"I dunno, just lightening the mood." Evie shrugged.

"No, I'm afraid I don't grant wishes," Drell replied. "But I can grant you the wish of a brand new and exciting adventure."

"Good enough for me!" LJ exclaimed. "Now let's get this show on the road! I am so ready to roll!"

"All right, it's just through that door." Drell pointed out.

Skippy opened up the door for them, but a bunch of cleaning supplies fell on top of him, making him fall to the floor with it.

"Whoops!" Drell then said. "Wrong door... I guess that's the janitor's closet."

Skippy grumbled a bit with a deadpan glance at his friend.

Drell moved the doorknob somehow from one place to the other and then opened the door to show a special pathway into a colorful looking environment. "This should be it." he then said.

"Whoa..." The kids gasped in astonished surprise.

"Well, all ashore who's going ashore!" LJ declared, making his way through the doorway. "Step lively, people!"

The group soon followed after him. They all looked around as the door came to close behind them before it faded away into nothingness.

"Are we on our own from here?" Zofia asked.

"I will help you if you absolutely need me," Drell's voice replied. "Also don't worry about your parents worrying about where you are. I left notes for them to tell them where you would be."

"Oh. Well, thanks!" Kimberly beamed.

"My pleasure," Drell's voice replied. "I hope this adventure busts your boredom."

"It does look promising so far," Mal remarked. "Hopefully for a good while."

* * *

The group soon wandered a bit, though Akito did a bit of speed-running himself as he was a bit further from the others. They soon came over to what looked like a plain and friendly-looking house with a fence built all around it as the black-haired boy from the video they saw was rushing out of the house like he was terribly late for something very important.

"Hey! You have to wait for me!" A black-haired girl rushed out of the house next to him before Akito accidentally ran into her which knocked them both down on the ground.

"Hey, you two alright?" asked Vincent as he helped them both to their feet.

"Ugh... Yeah... I'm fine..." Akito grunted slightly.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be okay..." The girl said as she reached for her hat and went to put it back on.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about that," Akito said as he looked at the girl and felt lost in her brown eyes. "I wasn't looking where I was... Go... Ing..."

"...N-Neither was I..." The black-haired girl replied as she seemed to blush at him.

"Guys, adventure is passing us by," LJ yelled from halfway down the road. "So... PLEASE GET A MOVE ON!" he exclaimed.

"Your brother seems impatient like mine." The black-haired girl said to Akito.

"Oh, uh, he's my cousin, but y-yeah..." Akito said bashfully as they looked at each other. "Guess I gotta go."

"I gotta go too," The girl replied. "I gotta catch up with my brother. Our mother is busy, so I have to go with him to visit Professor Oak... If I can catch up to him of course." she then said.

"Here, let me help ya," Akito said, holding his arms out to her. "I'm pretty fast."

"Oh, uh, are you sure?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, trust me," Akito smiled. "I'm strong and speedy."

"Well... All right..." The girl said before she climbed up into his arms and once she was secure, Akito zipped off to catch up with the others.

LJ huffed and gasped as he came to his destination.

"Alright... I made it..." he exclaimed. "Now, I should probably go inside until the others show up..."

"Is someone there?" A voice asked from his company.

"Yes, actually," LJ replied. "Hi, I came here to apply to become a Pokémon Trainer? Also, several other people should be here to apply also in a few more minutes."

"Well, hello there! Glad to meet you!" The owner of the voice, showing to be a silver-haired man with a white lab coat, soon appeared to meet LJ up close. "Welcome to the world of Pokemon! My name is Professor Samuel Oak. People affectionately refer to me as the Pokemon Professor. I'm surprised to see guests still coming though at this hour."

"It's only 4:00 in the afternoon, but okay," LJ replied. "Pleased to meet you, Professor."

"Oh, I know, some people have come and gone already who are signed up," Professor Oak said to him. "I was expecting the arrival of Ash Ketchum too, I'm a friend of his family's, but I guess he either got too busy or just forgot about his appointment."

"Ash Ketchum?" LJ asked. "Is _that_ the name of the black-haired kid who was running over here? Well... I might've glimpsed him on the way over."

"Yes, I was told he would be here as soon as possible." Professor Oak replied as he began to water his plants since he was outside, which in fact themselves, Pokemon, known as Oddish and Bellsprout.

The others soon made it over as Akito carried the black-haired girl who seemed to smile brightly at him.

"I see these are your guests," Professor Oak then said as he saw the group before noticing the black-haired girl. "Along with... Emi?"

"Hello, Professor Oak," The black-haired girl replied. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise." agreed the professor.

"Would you like some help, Grandpa?" asked a brown-haired young woman with green eyes and a lab coat.

"No thank you, Daisy; I've got it handled," replied Professor Oak. "Though feel free to lend a hand with our guests here."

"Emi... So _that's_ your name..." Akito said to the black-haired girl.

"Uh, yeah," The black-haired girl replied with a nod. "Sorry, I guess I didn't tell you."

"Hello, there," Daisy greeted the others. "Welcome to the world of Pokemon."

"Thanks." Jay smirked as he soon walked a bit closer to come towards her.

"Anyways, I suppose you're all here to become Pokemon trainers." Daisy told the group.

"That would be spot-on," Ichabod replied. "So just let us know where to start."

"All right, I'll show you with Grandpa." Daisy smiled warmly.

"Sounds good to me." Sandra replied.

"So, Professor Oak, where's my Pokemon?!" Ash asked eagerly.

"Ah, so you're the last of the four young ones starting out on their journeys today." Professor Oak said to the black-haired boy.

"I've thought about it a lot and it took me a really long time, but I finally decided," Ash replied eagerly as he followed the older man inside. "I'm gonna choose Squirtle! I'm afraid Squirtle was chosen by a Trainer who wasn't late."

"I told you that you overslept," Emi crossed her arms at Ash. "You overslept, but you wouldn't listen to me, and I tried to get you here on time, and... And... And..."

"Alright, Emi!" Ash complained from that. "Little sisters..."

Emi stuck her tongue out a bit with a sour look in her eyes.

"Okay, then I'll choose Bulbasaur!" Ash decided, feeling confident.

Professor Oak gave Ash a sad smile. "Bulbasaur went with a Trainer who also got here on time." he replied.

"Aw..." Ash groused. "Alright! I mean I really want Charmander!"

"The early bird gets the worm... Or rather, the Pokemon," countered the professor. "Being a second late for a train, or even a Pokemon, can be life-changing."

"Does that mean we have to go on a journey without any Pokemon?" Ash asked, looking a bit disappointed.

"Bummer." Zofia frowned.

"Well, there is another, but..." Professor Oak was about to tell Ash.

"Uh, I'll take it!" Ash insisted.

"I think I should warn you that there is a problem with this last one..." Professor Oak began to warn.

"So what?" Ash scoffed. "Since I was late, then I've got a problem with me, too!"

"All right... Also, Ash, you should share with your sister." Professor Oak then said.

"Yeah, share with your sister." Emi smirked.

"Just remember, it was mine first since I'm older!" Ash told her.

"Sure, sure." Emi rolled her eyes.

"I should warn you, this little fellow is very rambunctious..." Daisy added as she saw a yellow zigzag tail waving from above her head.

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, running up the stairs. "Alright then, you're my Pokémon!" But he slipped and fell back down the stairs; it didn't keep him from trying again, though.

The others winced a bit from Ash's slip and fall, though he must had not been hurt if he could get right back up again like he did.

"This Pokemon is called Pikachu." Professor Oak educated as the yellow Pokemon came out.

"It's so cute!" Ash beamed at Pikachu. "Looks like I got the best one!"

"You'll see..." Professor Oak warned.

"Oh, yeah!" Ash beamed before he picked up the Pokemon instantly. "Hi, Pikachu, my name's Ash Ketchum! You and I are gonna be best friends!"

"I don't know you!" Pikachu glared as he began to charge up to zap Ash with his electrical powers.

"...Did one of you just say you didn't like my brother?" Emi asked the others as she heard a voice.

The others declined from that question as Emi looked puzzled and curious.

"Don't _like_ him?" asked LJ. "We literally just met him!"

"Somebody said that they didn't like my brother," Emi shrugged. "Sorry about the crispiness, Ash."

"It's the Electric Mouse Pokemon," Professor Oak educated. "Pikachu can be rather shy, but quite electrifying when touched by humans."

"Hey, I can take a little zap!" Ash huffed from that.

"All right then," Professor Oak replied as he gave a ball to the boy as he felt determined. "If that's how you feel, then this is Pikachu's PokeBall.

"Thanks a lot, Professor!" Ash beamed.

"Ash?" asked a female voice, as a young brown-haired woman came inside, carrying a bundle. "Remember, you were going to head out on your journey right after getting your Pokemon. For goodness' sake!"

Fortunately, the bundle Ash and Emi's mother had with her consisted of clothes, and after a quick change, Ash was dressed and prepared.

"Here. I packed shirts, underwear, a towel, your toothbrush, and a sleeping bag," Delia told her son as she gave him his green backpack.

"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash beamed.

"Forget it," Pikachu remarked, turning his head aside.

"Don't Pokemon usually go in their Pokeballs?" asked Delia.

Ash gave a nervous chuckle. "They sure do..." he replied. "C'mon, Pikachu; get in."

"Mm... No." Pikachu said firmly.

Emi glanced at Pikachu curiously, wondering if the voice came from the Electric Mouse Pokemon, but it seemed hard to tell for right now.

"Oh, right," Professor Oak soon remembered something. "This Pikachu hates getting into any sort of PokeBall."

"Whoa, it does?" Ash asked before holding out the ball to the Pokemon. "Now get in!"

"Stuff you." Pikachu muttered.

Ash then tossed the ball at Pikachu before the Pokemon hit it back with his tail and it slammed Ash in the face.

"Heh... That was entertaining." Pikachu chuckled from Ash's pain.

"Wow!" Delia smiled, even though her son was in pain. "If you're playing catch, then you're good friends already!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Ash smiled back from that before he soon put away the PokeBall for right now and picked up the Pokemon happily and hopefully. "We're best friends already, right?" he then asked.

"Don't... Touch... **_MEEEEEE!_** " Pikachu glared before zapping all of them while in Ash's hold.

"Owww..." LJ groaned, his body charred. "First day and I'm already hurtin'..."

"Hey! No need to get so agitated with us!" Creepie groaned.

"I should've seen this coming." Sandra mumbled.

Mal glowered at Pikachu. "Maybe we should find some other Pocket Thingy or whatever."

"I'm sorry, but this is all that's left." Professor Oak replied.

"Well... That's a kicker," LJ grunted. "Those two get stuck with a bad-tempered Pikachu, and the rest of us get bupkus. Nada. Diddly squat."

"I apologize, but that's how it goes sometimes, but you can have these in case you do run into some other wild Pokemon." Professor Oak offered as he showed a collection of PokeBalls which seemed to be enough for each of them.

"Grandfather, don't people have to battle wild Pokémon to catch them?" Daisy spoke up. "If Pikachu is who they're relying on, then they've definitely got their work cut out for them... Unless it actually decides to cooperate."

"Hmm... I'm not sure if there are any out... But I guess we could check to see what would be there for them." Professor Oak replied.

Pikachu was still glaring at Ash.

"We won't hurt you," Emi told Pikachu. "I promise you that we won't."

"Hmph... I guess I'll consider it," Pikachu shrugged. "I got my peepers on you both."

"...You did talk to me..." Emi gasped.

"...You can understand me?" Pikachu asked her.

"I... I guess so..." Emi said before looking around. "Did you guys hear Pikachu talking?"

"Uh... What?" Mal asked.

"Pikachu talked to me!" Emi beamed. "It's incredible, isn't it?" she then picked up Pikachu and held him out to Mal. "Talk, Pikachu!"

"What did I say about TOUCHING ME?!" Pikachu growled before shocking both her and Mal.

"Uh... Whoops..." Emi coughed.

Mal narrowed her eyes as she was nearly fried to a crisp. "Neat trick, kid," she then muttered. "Let's go jump in a volcano next after you say that the volcano spirits talked to you about something else."

"Volcano spirits?" asked Carlos. "Mal, did that yellow guy's electricity fry your brains or something?"

"I'm making a point!" Mal replied firmly.

Emi soon set Pikachu down.

"Perhaps my grandfather could find some Pokemon that best fit you guys." Daisy said hopefully to the group.

"Here's hoping," Kimberly replied. "This _does_ seem interesting though..."

"I'm glad you're having fun." Daisy said.

"Yeah, the more fun the better," Jay smirked. "Especially in meeting cute girls along the way."

"Down, Jay." Carlos commanded him like a dog.

Jay rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"So... Find anything?" asked Sandra.

"Perhaps you should come and meet this batch up close to see what sticks to you." Professor Oak suggested.

* * *

The group soon came into a back room to show some Pokemon who had been abandoned and looked like poor animals trapped in an animal shelter.

"What happened to them?" Felicity asked. "They all look so sad."

"These Pokemon were hurt and abandoned by cruel trainers," Professor Oak replied. "I'm sure I can trust you kids, but I wasn't sure if you would be interested or not."

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked specifically over to a group of four Pokemon who seemed to be a lot like them which were a Murkrow, a Meowisc, a Chatot, and a Rockruff who were huddled together despite getting hurt and looking sad.

"...They almost look like us..." Mal said softly as she thought about her early childhood of being excluded by the other kids before she met her best friends before they met Felicity.

"I think these guys would fit you nicely," LJ commented. "Besides, all you guys needed was a good home. Maybe that's what they need too!"

"Yeah... Maybe..." Evie replied. "I really love that one's fur." she then pointed out to Meowsic.

Meowsic looked over before yelping and running as it felt startled that it was being looked at like that.

"Oh..." Evie frowned softly.

"I do apologize," Professor Oak replied. "Some of them are a bit skittish due to being abandoned by their former trainers."

"I know all about abandonment..." Mal muttered as she looked at Murkrow. "That one reminds me of my mom's pet bird."

"Well, you guys are covered... Like people with insurance." LJ replied.

"Are there any others?" Akito asked Professor Oak.

"There might be if you look around, but there's also a group of eggs." Professor Oak replied.

"Eggs?" Akito repeated.

"Yes, Pokemon come from eggs," Professor Oak told him as he led him into an incubator to show three separate eggs. "You'll have to keep them warm until they glow and hatch, but inside these eggs would be a Larvitar, a Vulpix, and a Teddiursa."

"Larvitar sounds cool." Akito smiled hopefully.

"I call Teddiursa!" exclaimed Estelle.

"Vulpix sounds interesting." Kimberly added.

"Would you like to raise the eggs?" Professor Oak offered.

"Yes, please!" Akito and Estelle cheered in unison.

"I'd like to as well." Kimberly added.

"Very well, let me give you these special containers to keep them in until they start to hatch and glow," Professor Oak told them as he came to a back room. "They need plenty of love and care."

"Oh, sure, Professor Oak," Estelle smiled out of excitement. "I'm sure we'll take very good care of these little Pokemon."

"And I have the utmost confidence in you three!" Professor Oak replied. "That would just leave the rest of your friends."

"Yes! Finally!" LJ exclaimed.

Estelle smiled as she began to cradle the egg and even rocked it like a newborn baby.

"I got dibs on this little guy," Jay smirked as Chatot soon flew out and perched on his shoulder. "Can you say 'Jay rules'? Come on! Say 'Jay rules'!"

Chatot squawked like a regular parrot before repeating him. "Jay rules! Jay rules!"

"Heh, a match made in heaven if I do say so myself." Jay chuckled.

"Alright, last but not least, right, Prof?" Ichabod asked. "I've seen this plenty of times!"

"Yeah-yeah!" LJ added. "So... Where are ours? Are they hidden around here or something?"

"Let's see what else we got," Professor Oak said as Carlos stared at Rockruff who stared back at him. "It's not polite to stare, young man."

"...Sorry," Carlos said. "It's just... That one looks so much like a dog."

"What's the matter?" Akito asked. "You don't like dogs?"

"I was bitten by a dog when I was really young... My mom told me that they're dangerous..." Carlos replied, scaredly. "That one looks like he wants to eat me or something..."

"Oh... Sorry, Carlos, I didn't know." Akito said.

"It's okay..." Carlos replied. "...Maybe I should go back to the house."

"No, you're here, and your mom is a wackadoo," Sandra replied. "Besides, he's just a puppy. He couldn't hurt you if he tried."

"He's probably more scared of you than you are of him," Zofia added. "Just give him a try, Carlos."

Carlos looked at them before he knelt beside the pen and tried to reach out to touch Rockruff to give him a pet on the head. Rockruff eased into Carlos' touching before giving a pleased little yip. Carlos yelped as he fell back into a sitting position.

"Relax, Carlos," Zofia giggled. "He likes you, obviously."

"...You really think so?" Carlos asked.

"Look at him..." Zofia cooed.

Rockruff reached out a bit closer at Carlos as he looked curious of the boy. Carlos placed his hand onto Rockruff's left paw; Rockruff put his right paw on top. The others smiled from that as it looked cute. Carlos eventually smiled at the Rockruff as they seemed to bond a lot better now. A lizard-like Pokemon seemed to scatter along the floor before seeming to creep up beside Ich as he grabbed a lower half of his body which resembled a loose pair of pants.

"Hoobah!" Ichabod exclaimed. "Who's _this_ dashing little rogue? All he needs is a belt, and the ladies'll be swarming him!"

"Well, there," Daisy gave a small smile. "It looks like you've found a Scraggy."

"That seems to fit him somehow." Sandra hid a small smirk.

A Pokemon crept up right behind her and tried to get her attention, but every time she turned around, it kept hiding away from her.

"Okay, whoever's playing a joke on me, it is so not cool." Sandra rolled her eyes.

The Pokemon soon tried to do it again, but luckily, Sandra caught it in her hands before it could do it again.

"Gotcha, ya little-" Sandra grinned before looking curious. "Uh... Purple ball thing?"

"And it looks like you've got a Gengar." Daisy then told Sandra.

"Gee, nuthin' gets past you, does it?" Gengar replied in a Paul Winchell-esque voice. "Beauty _and_ brains... A twofer!"

"Hmm..." Sandra rolled her eyes slightly. "You seem interesting though."

"Oh, and you _don't_?" replied Gengar. "But I will admit that I've seen worse."

"Alright, I'm ready!" LJ declared. "Bring on the 'Mon!"

"These two are a bit different, but I hope you appreciate them." Professor Oak said.

"I'm sure whatever you have for us will be alright," Zofia replied. "How about you, Creepie?"

"I'm not sure about these Pokemon just yet," Creepie said. "I think I'll just watch you guys and see if I want one after all of this is over."

"Fair enough," Zofia nodded before looking back at Professor Oak. "Now, uh, these Pokemon for my brother and I?"

Out came a blue small, amphibious, quadruped Pokémon along with a small, quadruped fox-like, pale yellow-colored Pokémon.

"LJ and Zofia, I would like you both to meet Mudkip and Fennekin." Professor Oak then introduced.

"Mm... Curious," LJ noted. "But still... TOTALLY AWESOME!"

"Glad to meet you," Mudkip replied. "Call me Fishy Joe."

"Ooh, nice! And I'm LJ!" LJ exclaimed. "LJ and FJ! Sounds like a comedy troupe or a rock band! I can't wait to have adventures with you, and watch Donald Duck cartoons with you, and roast marshmallows and eat them until we're full..."

Zofia and the Fennekin shared looks with each other.

"Salutations." Zofia then said to the Fennekin.

"Greetings," Fennekin replied as she bowed her head at Zofia. "I look forward to our future bonding time together as Pokemon and Pokemon trainer."

"Ooh, I'm gonna like you," Zofia smiled as she soon bent down to pick up Fennekin and hugged the Pokemon, petting her fur. "Ooh... Your fur is really soft."

"So's yours." Fennekin giggled as she nuzzled against Zofia, feeling her hair.

"Alrighty! Let's make our journey a good one!" LJ declared triumphantly. "Adventures are waiting for us, so it's time to answer the call, cuz Mr. Opportunity is knocking!"

"I hope you all have fun with your brand new adventure." Professor Oak told them.

"Yes, it's pretty exciting," Daisy smiled. "Just remember to use your PokeBalls when necessary and take very good care of your Pokemon."

"We will, promise!" Ichabod remarked. "Also those PokéDex things."

"Ah, yes," Daisy replied. "Those will be very important while on your journey as you find out and learn more about other Pokemon that you might run into during your journey."

"Guess being the granddaughter of an expert makes you one too a little." Akito remarked.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that." Daisy then giggled.

"Well, thanks again." Sandra replied.

"You're very welcome," Daisy smiled. "I hope and wish for you guys to have a great time on your new Pokemon journey."

"Thanks, Daisy," Mal replied as Murkrow perched on her shoulder. "This is going to be quite a new experience for all of us."

"Could be, wait and see!" Murkrow called.


	2. Chapter 2

And so, they left Professor Oak and Daisy's place to begin a brand new adventure together. Ash began to drag Pikachu along with a leash to make the Pokemon go with him since Pikachu felt stubborn about going anywhere with the boy. Ash then grunted and yawned while Pikachu seemed to mimick him just for the heck of it. "Pikachu, are you gonna be like this the whole way?" he then asked the Pokemon.

"What's it to ya?" Pikachu huffed as he turned away from Ash.

"Cuz cooperation is part of what helps build a team," Fishy Joe replied. "And like it or not, you're part of the team."

"Whatever," Pikachu narrowed his eyes. "That kid's not part of a team with me."

Emi looked very bewildered as she discovered that she knew what Pikachu was saying about her brother.

"Is it because you don't like me?" Ash asked Pikachu.

"Take a guess." Pikachu scoffed.

"Well, I like you a lot!" Ash told Pikachu. "And no matter what, I want to be your friend."

"There's a laugh." Pikachu snarked.

"So we're all done with this," Ash then said as he took the string off of Pikachu to let the Pokemon feel more free. "Now. Put 'er there."

"Keep dreamin'." Pikachu huffed.

"Wow, this guy is a bad-tempered jerk," LJ remarked. "Still, FJ, we can't let this dude's bad vibes bring down our good mood!"

"Ah, you're right," Fishy Joe nodded. "Just gotta think of the marshmallows... Think of the marshmallows... Ah~"

"Boys..." Fennekin rolled her eyes.

"Ah, be nice," Zofia told her Pokemon. "That's my brother and your... Um... Cousin."

"Cousin?" Fennekin and Fishy Joe asked.

"...Yes," Zofia replied. "I thought our Pokemon could be like our children."

"I feel that way myself already." Estelle said as she cradled her Teddiursa egg like a baby.

"But we can't be cousins!" Fishy Joe blushed. "Because... Um..."

Fennekin looked bashful. "Are you going to say what I think you might say?" she then asked.

"You guys can hear the Pokemon too?" Emi asked. "It seems like that Ash can't."

"I guess you're special," Akito smiled bashfully at her. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"I just thought _everyone_ could hear it," LJ shrugged. "It's kinda vague about that thing."

"Maybe Ash will hear him later." Estelle shrugged.

"You're a handful," Ash told Pikachu before he glanced over and heard cooing from a bird before he saw a bird-like Pokemon in the grass before them picking at the grass to find some food. "Hey, a Pidgey! That's awesome! Yes!"

"Pidgey?" Pikachu repeated curiously.

"Catching that Pidgey's gonna be my first step toward becoming a Pokemon Master!" Ash beamed as he rushed over before tossing out his PokeBall in excitement. "Go, PokeBall!"

"Ow!" Pidgey grunted as the PokeBall hit it in the face before it went into the ball.

"I caught it!" Ash cheered for himself.

"Wait... I might be new, but don't you need to fight those things first before you catch one?" asked Scraggy.

"Uh... Yeah..." Felicity commented.

"By the way, sorry you couldn't get your own Pokemon." Carlos said as he decided to carry Rockruff.

"Oh, it's okay, Carlos," Felicity replied. "I'm sure the perfect Pokemon will just come out and hit me when I least expect it."

Pidgey soon made it out of the PokeBall and soon nipped at its feathers as if nothing had even happened.

"Nice work!" Pikachu laughed at Ash's misfortune.

"The way to catch 'em is to have a battle!" Ash soon realized. "Go, Pikachu!"

"Forget it, man." Pikachu rolled his eyes.

"Aw, come on, aren't you gonna help me out?" Ash asked the Pokemon.

"Tough Thunderbolts." Pikachu huffed as he scratched himself.

"Fine then," Ash glared as he soon picked up a rock. "I'll do it myself." he then said before he tried to throw the rock at the Pidgey.

Unfortunately, the Pidgey flew off and the rock hit another bird-like Pokémon. "...WHO JUST HIT ME?!" he growled, shooting a glare that could pierce through steel.

"Whoa, boy..." Mal and Evie muttered together in slight concern.

"It's a Spearow!" Ash gasped as he fell backwards.

"Sucks to be you right now!" Pikachu laughed at Ash.

"Stop laughing at my brother!" Emi glared firmly.

"He brought it out on himself." Pikachu gave a smarmy smirk.

" **YOU DIE NOW!** " Spearow growled as he flew up in the air and swooped right down to hit Pikachu.

"Oh, you wanna dance? Let's dance!" Pikachu glared before he jumped up and hit his electric powers at the Spearow to get back at him.

"How about we make things interesting?!" Fishy Joe added as he sprayed Spearow with Water Gun.

Spearow yelled out before growling. "You guys are really giving me a bad day!"

"There's more where that came from!" Fennekin retorted as she jumped out beside the Mudkip.

"Maybe you'd all like to deal with my wrath." Spearow threatened.

"Please," Scraggy remarked. "There's plenty of us, and only one of you!".

"Well, far be it from me to not be fair," Spearow retorted, as an entire flock of Spearow arrived behind him. "How's THIS for a fair fight?"

"Oh, crud..." The other Pokemon muttered from the sudden competition.

"Let's get outta here! Quick!" Ash panicked.

"Way ahead of ya!" Pikachu replied as he dashed off ahead of Ash.

The Spearow flock zipped right toward them and some hit the kids along with their new Pokemon as they ran for their lives. Pikachu cried out as a bunch of Spearow attacked and hit him.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Emi cried out from that.

"Knock it off!" Ash added. "I'm the one who threw the rock! You should be attacking me!"

"That's a _great_ idea!" said one Spearow. "Let's _get_ 'em! We can deal with the small fry at our leisure!"

And the Spearow began to swarm around Ash, pecking with their beaks and scratching with their talons.

"Stop it!" Emi cried out.

Ash soon picked up and held Pikachu in his arms and ran off as best as he could. The Spearow swarm continued to chase after the group.

"Get lost before I pluck your feathers!" Mal threatened.

"I don't think they care!" Murkrow replied to her.

The Spearow flock soon chased them right off of a cliff and straight into the water down below. Emi frowned in concern for Pikachu as she held onto her big brother on the way through the water, emotionally.

"Into the drink we go..." LJ coughed.

"And me without my water wings!" Ichabod added as they were all carried down the river.

A Gyarados soon swam over, passing them as they did their best to dodge. Akito and Estelle looked at each other, feeling a little surprised as they suddenly had tail-fins like merpeople. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos gave a look at Felicity who just shrugged in response.

* * *

Eventually, it was getting dark outside as the group left the river to go to dry land before the Fudo twins' tail-fins disappeared and their legs came back once they touched dry land.

"You okay in there?" Estelle cooed to her Teddiursa egg as she hugged it.

"Hopefully..." Kimberly coughed a bit as she held her Vulpix egg. "That was quite a trip."

"Yeah!" Creepie added. "What a bunch of angry birds, am I right?"

"You alright, Pikachu?" asked Ash as the sky began to rumble.

"I've... Felt... Worse..." Pikachu replied as Ash held him in his arms.

"Well, we're not out of the woods yet!" LJ exclaimed, pointing to the flock of Spearow that was still in hot pursuit. "So I say we scram-bob-ulate!"

They soon got up and started to run again as fast as they could.

"Pikachu! You're gonna be just fine!" Ash cried out to the poor Pokemon. "Hang in there!"

A drop then suddenly fell which meant that it was about to start raining.

"Oh, come on!" Akito and Estelle complained from the rain.

The Spearow soon caught up to them and began to attack.

"Stop it!" Emi cried out. "Leave us alone!"

The Spearow soon attacked and pecked at her too.

"She said **STOP IT!** " Akito shouted in a strong voice which startled the Spearow around Emi before they flew in the back as the others continued to go at it.

Ash and the others fell into a crevice, and he dropped Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he crawled to the yellow rodent to protect him. "No, Pikachu...this can't be happening, right?" he asked, his eyes wet with tears.

"I dunno..." Pikachu wheezed. "Feels pretty real...to me..."

Glaring at the Spearow who were swarming above them, Ash took out Pikachu's Pokeball and placed it in front of him.

"Pikachu...ya gotta go inside," Ash told him. "I know you can't stand going inside your ball, but...it's the only way to keep you safe. So get in...and leave the rest to me..."

"I... I don't feel so good..." Pikachu said weakly.

"Pikachu, you should go back to your ball," Emi said with tears in her eyes as she knelt in front of the Pokemon. "I know you hate it, but it'll be good for you. Trust us."

Pikachu just looked sad and weak in response as the Spearow continued to flood the stormy skies.

"All right, you!" Ash soon glared at the flock of Spearow as he turned his cap on backwards. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with, but I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town and I'm gonna be the world's greatest Pokemon Master!"

Everybody else huddled together with their own Pokemon to keep them safe and warm as best as they could in the situation.

"Mess with me and you're gonna lose!" Ash continued bravely. "I'm gonna catch all of you Pokemon at once! Pikachu, you've gotta get inside your PokeBall now!" he then advised to the Pokemon.

Pikachu didn't even respond from that.

"All right, you, hit me with your best shot!" Ash then glared at the bird Pokemon as brave as he could muster.

Emi soon picked up Pikachu and hugged him, even if the Pokemon hated being touched by humans.

"...You feel so warm... And trusting..." Pikachu said softly. "You're like... A sign from above... Like... An angel..."

"I've always wanted to help you Pokemon," Emi whispered as she hugged him. "It always felt like my destiny. You might not like us, but I like you, Pikachu. In fact, I love you... You're apart of mine and Ash's family, whether you hate us or not."

Thunder and lightning crackled and rumbled in the skies above as the Spearow all swooped towards Ash and his friends, but to their surprise, Pikachu climbed onto Ash's shoulder and leapt into the air; as a bolt from the sky struck his body, the electric mouse unleashed a tremendous ThunderShock, which resulted in a massive explosion that sent the Spearow flapping for the hills.

"Holy cannolli... He did it!" exclaimed Fishy Joe as the rain soon stopped.

"Oh, thank goodness." Meowsic cooed.

"Way to go, little dude!" Rockruff laughed. "That was awesome sauce!"

"Awesome! Awesome!" Chatot parroted.

The kids seemed to be knocked out from the impact before they slowly woke up to see their Pokemon, mostly Ash and Emi with a look at Pikachu.

"Hey, you're awake!" Pikachu smiled at them.

"Pikachu..." Ash and Emi smiled back as Ash took a hold of Pikachu who didn't flip out this time from being touched.

Pikachu beamed as he licked Ash's face happily.

"You'll stay?" asked Ash. "You mean it?"

"Not like I got anywhere _else_ to go!" Pikachu replied.

Ash beamed as he hugged the little rodent. Just then, they heard a loud screech from above their heads. Looking into the sky, they saw it was coming from a large, mystical-looking bird. The group members all got to their feet as they all looked up. The bird flew over their heads, its wings glimmering.

"What's that?" asked Fennekin.

"Beats me..." replied Gengar.

As the magical-looking bird flew off, it left behind one of its feathers, which floated down into Ash's hands.

"You won a feather." Emi giggled at her brother.

The bird flew through a rainbow as it looked very mystical and magical.

The wind gently blew as Ash began to feel very motivated by the wonderful sight. "Pikachu? Someday we'll both meet that Pokemon!" he then told his companion.

"Yeah!" Pikachu beamed.

* * *

And thus, began a new era which would begin with Ash and Pikachu, of course Emi too since she was here for this adventure, but who knew if she would still be with her brother and their new Pokemon to the very end?

"Pokémon! Gotta Catch 'Em All!" LJ declared as music began to play. "Through the fire and the water and the grass and in the forest, my best efforts I'll exert~" he sang.

"Also deep inside the ground, and way up high beyond the clouds and even under that girl's skirt~" added Fishy Joe, pointing to Fennekin with a flirty grin. "Hoo-yeah!"

"It's a very very very very very very very very hard task to take on~" sang Ichabod. "But I know that I can do it; I know that... I can catch 'em, yeah-i-yeah-i-yeah-i-yeah-i-yeah-i-yeah-i-yeah-i-yeah!"

"So long Pallet Town, sayonara bye bye~" sang Emi.

"My journey starts today with, uh, what's his name?" asked Scraggy.

"Pikachu!"

"Ah, right." Scraggy grinned.

"We'll win at every battle, with moves learned skillfully~" sang Ash. "And make new friends as we walk the path to the next city!"

"Every day and all the time, I will train to be the best~" sang Zofia. "Still despite my efforts, I can't guarantee you~"

"That's true!" Gengar added.

"But all the time and every day, I'll live honestly and true~" sang Rockruff.

"Because my friends are with me too!~" added Chatot.

"Through the fire and the water and the grass and in the forest, My best effort I'll exert~," Akito and Estelle sang. "Also deep inside the ground and way up high beyond the clouds~"

"And even under that girl's skirt~" Ichabod grinned.

"Persistent." Sandra muttered.

"It's really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really tough, but it's my call~," Carlos sang as he carried Rockruff. "And I know that I can do it, Pokemon, Gotta catch 'em all!~"

"I'm tired from battling, Let's all have a good night, If I just close my eyes, the memories replay~" Jay yawned as he carried Chatot on his shoulder like a parrot pet.

"Pikachu?" Emi called.

"A flame burns deep inside me, a wind blows like a roar~" sang Akito. "This voice is calling out to me, to battle evermore!~"

"Yesterday, you may have been my foe; today you are my friend~" sang Fishy Joe. "At least that's how the old saying seems to go~"

"Who're you calling old?" asked Pikachu.

"That a friend you had today will be your friend the next day too~" sang Mal. "And that's a friend who'll stay with you~"

"Oh! Watch me, here I go!~" sang Ash. "Pokemon Master's what I'll be! It's destiny's call, I'll give it my all! That's just what I'm gonna do!~"

"Chase your dreams, keep them close they'll eventually come true, So it's said in all those songs and childhood stories~," Emi began to sing a solo as Akito looked at her and felt like he was falling in love with the black-haired girl. "And I know just like flower buds eventually will bloom, That all my dreams will soon come true, Every day and all the time, I will train to be the best, Still despite my effort, I can't guarantee you~"

"Wow!" Akito smiled.

"But all the time and every day, I'll live honestly and true, Because my friends are with me too!~" Emi smiled back with a wink and a giggle.

Akito blushed and chuckled to himself.

"Oh! Watch me here I go!~," Felicity, Kimberly, Evie, and Mal sang together. "Pokemon Master's what I'll be, It's destiny's call, I'll give it my all~"

"Oh-ho! Watch me, here I go!~" sang LJ, windmilling. "Pokemon Master's what I'll be! It's destiny's call, I'll give it my all..."

"That's just what I'm gonna _do_...!~" sang the group one last time, as the song ended.

"The Pokemon looked exhausted," Carlos said. "Should we get a doctor?"

"No, we should visit a Pokemon Center to heal them up before we go any further," Emi advised. "I've heard of those places, they have nurses and maybe she can help with the eggs."

"All right, we'll take a quick break," Jay replied. "Man, this Pokemon stuff is rough sometimes."

"It's been a month," LJ shrugged. "But I'm impressed we made it this far. Maybe we can find out how close those eggs are to hatching..."

"They're glowing too," Akito replied. "I feel like that might be important."

"I think you're right about that." Emi nodded at him.

They soon traveled for a while before returning their Pokemon to their PokeBalls.

* * *

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center! We can heal your Pokémon to perfect health," The nurse behind the welcome center greeted warmly. "Shall we heal your Pokémon?"

"Yes, please." The group replied.

"Okay, may I see your Pokémon?" The nurse requested.

The group soon gave their PokeBalls to the kind woman as she accepted each and every one of them and went to take care of the Pokemon for them for the time being.

"Thank you." The nurse replied as she took care of the Pokemon as well as the eggs that they had with them.

"Not a problem!" LJ beamed as they all went to wait for their Pokémon to be healed.

"Phew... This Pokemon biz is heavy work..." Mal said as she sat with the others. "At least we're not bored anymore though."

"Boy, I'll say," Jay replied. "I'm gonna need a nice, long nap when we get back home."

Evie hummed to herself as she began to sew some sort of glittery fabric.

"What are you making now?" Jay asked her.

"I'm going to make an oh-so-cute little bow and dress for Meowsic when she wakes back up," Evie smiled. "I want us to match."

"Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate it," replied Kimberly. "I wonder when our eggs will hatch?"

"I hope soon," Estelle said. "I can't wait to meet Teddiursa. It already sounds so cute."

"And I can't wait to meet Larvitar," Akito smiled. "I bet it's gonna be so cool!"

"At least you guys have your Pokemon," Felicity shrugged. "I've been with you guys for the month and I still haven't gotten one, except for maybe Creepie."

"I'm still thinking about it." Creepie replied as she sat upside down in her seat.

"I guess I'll try to look," Felicity sighed with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's not like a new Pokémon is gonna come hit me in the head without a warn--"

BAM! A PokéBall was then suddenly hit in the back of her head.

"Ow!" Felicity pouted from that.

"Like Dad says, don't tempt fate," LJ chided her. "Even _I_ know _that_!"

"Sorry!" Felicity winced as she rubbed the back of her head. "Who threw that anyway?"

The others shrugged to show that it wasn't their fault.

"Jayden, I know you did something." Felicity grumbled.

"Hey! Cool it with the Jayden stuff!" Jay glared. "Also, it wasn't me, kiddo." he then added as he was a bit older than her, so he often called her one of the kids.

"I am _not_ a kid," Felicity stuck her tongue out before she looked down to the floor to see something. "Huh? Did one of you lose a PokéBall?"

"I thought we all gave our PokéBalls to that nice nurse lady." Kimberly shrugged.

Felicity sook picked up the PokéBall curiously before she felt someone watching her before turning to the wall as someone seemed to hide behind of it before she would see them.

"I gave my full one," LJ explained. "The other five I have are empty, but still on my belt."

The others just looked at each other.

"Uh, hello?" Felicity called as she came to check behind the wall. "Is someone there?"

Mal came beside Felicity just to make sure it wasn't a bully as she began to look protective. Felicity and Mal soon came behind the wall and found a blue ghost-like Pokemon with big red eyes, staring straight up at them.

"Oh, Felicity..." Mal then said. "... I think that's a Misdreavus."

"I think so too." Felicity replied.

"Maybe it wants you to catch it." Zofia suggested.

"...Is it true?" Felicity asked the Pokemon. "...You wanna be with me?"

Misdreavus smiled bashfully as she pointed at her PokeBall and floated out towards Felicity.

"Um... All right..." Felicity replied before she took the PokeBall and pointed to a corner. "Uh... Go over there?"

Misdreavus soon flew over to the corner and waited for the PokeBall to be thrown.

"At least she's friendly." Felicity shrugged before tossing the PokeBall at the Ghost Pokemon.

Suddenly, the PokeBall opened up and ensnared the Ghost Pokemon who didn't even fight to get back out.

"Alright, nice. You got... A Misdreavus!" exclaimed Carlos quietly, humming a little tune to celebrate.

"Nice tune." Felicity giggled from that.

"Thanks," Carlos replied while another Nurse Joy came out and handed a Pokeball to a young brown-haired girl.

* * *

"You're all set," The nurse told the girl. "Your Pokemon is completely healed, happy, and in perfect health!"

"I was so worried; thank you, Nurse Joy!" The girl smiled, before looking over at something. "Wanted posters?"

On the posters were pictures of a young woman with magenta hair, a young man with dark-blue hair, and a bipedal cat-like Pokemon frantically trying to scoop Pokeballs into a burlap sack.

"Yes... They call themselves 'Team Rocket'." explained Nurse Joy.

"Team Rocket?" asked the girl.

"They're awful people who go around stealing Pokemon from others," said Nurse Joy. "They're the worst of the worst."

"Wonder what _that's_ about...?" asked the girl.

"Team Rocket..." Carlos whispered to himself. "I should probably tell the others."

* * *

Delia soon came on a video screen to talk with Ash and Emi. **_"Emi, are you ready to come back home?"_ **she then asked. **_"Your big brother was just supposed to take you to meet Professor Oak and his new Pokemon."_**

"Actually, Mom, I think I'm gonna stay with Ash and our new friends for just a little longer." Emi replied.

 ** _"Oh... I'm not sure if that's wise..."_** Delia said worriedly. **_"I think I should come pick you up back home right away."_**

"Aw, but Mom, I'm not a little girl anymore!" Emi pouted. "I wanna stay with Ash and Pikachu and our new friends!"

"This is gonna be rough." Evie sighed from that.

"Sure seems like it." Mal agreed.

"Well, I know one thing," Carlos said. "Whoever this Team Rocket is, we better watch out for them."

"We'll keep that in mind." Akito replied.

Eventually, Nurse Joy came to them with their PokeBalls and brought back the eggs too.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, thank goodness," Kimberly said in relief. "How are they?"

"They're just fine, just need plenty of love and comfort until hatching time," Nurse Joy smiled. "It seems though that they will be hatching soon."

"So that glowing?" Estelle asked. "What's with the glowing?"

"That means they will be very close to hatching before you know it," Nurse Joy smiled. "Just keep an eye on them."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Kimberly beamed as she cradled her egg.

Just then, a boy ran inside holding a Vaporeon.

"Nurse Joy!" he exclaimed to the other Nurse Joy at the desk. "Please help my Pokemon. My Vaporeon's been hurt."

"Let me see..." Nurse Joy#2 replied as she inspected the Pokemon, whose body was covered with burn marks. "It doesn't look good... What happened?"

"An Entei... Came out of nowhere!" the boy exclaimed.

This piqued Ash's curiosity. "An Entei...?" he muttered. "Sorry Mom, gotta go!"

 ** _"Ash--"_ **started his mother, but he'd already hung up.

"I thought for sure we could catch it..." The boy who owned the Vapereon sighed.

"Don't worry," Nurse Joy #2 reassured as she took care of the injured Pokemon. "It'll be just fine."

"Thank you so much!" The boy said in relief as a few other boys came over.

"Did you say Entei?" Ash asked the boy.

"Yeah." The boy nodded.

"What's an Entei?" Carlos asked the boy.

"One of the Legendary Pokemon," The boy explained. "They're so rare, nobody ever sees them! I tried to catch it, but it was so overwhelmingly strong... We were beat in no time, and after that, it ran into the forest."

The other kids in the Pokemon Center soon decided to rush out to see Entei for themselves.

"It's probably still close!"

"I'm gonna catch it!"

"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash then proclaimed.

"Well, guys, it looks like we're on the road again." Felicity said to the others.

"You know what they say, adventure never rests," shrugged LJ as he got up and joined the others. "Maybe I'll find another Pokemon to catch..."

"It's very likely to happen, yeah." Emi nodded as they left the Pokemon Center.

They soon ran through the forest, but little did they realize, there would be other company in search of Entei.

"Where are you, Entei?!" Ash called out as they kept running.

Everybody soon took a look all around.

"I see something!" Pikachu called out.

Akito soon used telescopic vision and soon found what they were looking for. "Guys! There it is! I think!" he then told the others.

"There it is!" Another voice said before the brown-haired girl was shown before they all looked at her and she looked back with an eager grin as she ran ahead of them to go after the legendary Pokemon. "Let's go, Piplup!" she then called out as she tossed out her PokeBall.

Out of the Pokéball came a small blue penguin-like Pokémon.

"Hey, we saw it first!" LJ yelled at the girl.

"No, I got here first!" The girl retorted, trying to speed up, but LJ and the others ran faster as well, and soon they were all neck and neck. "Piplup, use Bubblebeam!" The girl told her Pokémon, who fired a stream of bubbles at Entei.

The legendary Pokémon simply jumped out of the way, and landed right behind Ash.

"Ash!" Emi yelped from that.

"Someone do something!" Carlos gasped as he protected Rockruff.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash told his Pokemon.

Pikachu then tried to charge at Entei, but the legendary Pokemon hopped away again, beside the brown-haired girl and her Pokemon before hopping to a boulder.

"This might get a little messy," Creepie said to the others. "Like a bunch of roaches who found a motel to call home."

Entei soon breathed fire like a mythical dragon so they all ran away to safety and made sure that their Pokemon wouldn't get burned alive either. A new Pokemon soon appeared, looking like a bipedal canine of some sort.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" A black-haired boy soon told the Pokemon who did as told.

The kids gasped as the attack made impact, but Entei was barely even scuffed. He just launched another fire blast at Lucario, smacking it into a tree.

"Piplup... Bubblebeam!" The girl declared, and her penguin Pokemon leapt into the air, firing at Entei, who just leapt up, smashing into the ground, knocking everyone down.

While that happened, Entei decided to make its departure, off into the woods.

The girl got to her feet, and glared at Ash as he came nearby. "Alright, you let it escape!" she snapped.

"Yeah!" Piplup agreed.

"I totally could've caught it if you hadn't gotten in the way!" Ash retorted.

"Big time!" Pikachu added.

"Hey! There's no need to fight!" Akito cried out.

"Stay out of this, Shorty!" The brown-haired girl huffed. "Wanna see if you can beat me?"

"Good idea," Ash accepted. "I'm Ash from Pallet Town! Let's have a battle!"

"And I accept!" The brown-haired girl replied. "I'm Verity and I'm from Twinleaf Town!"

The other boy was trying to make sure that his Lucario was okay.

"Hey, dude! Once I polish off this kid, you're gonna be next!" The brown-haired boy soon called out to the other boy.

"I want a battle with you, too!" Ash added until the girl smirked at him with her tongue out once he caught what she said about him. "Hey! What do you mean, polish me off?!"

"Guys, I do not think he's going to want to." Felicity spoke up softly.

"I'm Sorrel, from Veilstone City," the boy replied as he recalled his Lucario back into its ball. "And I'll take a pass on the battle."

"Running away?" asked Verity.

"Guys, maybe he's trying to get his Lucario some medical help," LJ suggested. "After all, it DID just get smacked into a tree by a massive fireball, or did you two just develop short-term memory loss in the past five minutes?"

"I guess someone got way too carried away about catching this beast called Entei." Zofia narrowed her eyes.

"Here's a little warning for you," Sorrel advised as he decided to get going. "You're going to feel the wind soon. I'd start looking for shelter from the rain."

Ash looked up at the sky curiously. "It's gonna rain?" he then asked.

"I wonder how he can tell?" Kimberly pondered.

"Before you find shelter, I think you'd better call your mommy!" Verity smirked at Ash.

"Hey! Quit it!" Ash glared.

"And who's this?" Verity then smirked at Emi. "Your little cheerleader?"

"I'm his sister!" Emi glared sharply.

"You could've fooled me," Verity mocked. "You don't even look alike."

"Hey, leave her out of this!" Ash glared at Verity. "Let's do this, you and me."

"You wanna make trouble, you got trouble!" LJ declared as Ash squared off with Verity.

"Hmph... I don't look like Ash... What a laugh!" Emi scoffed.

The others looked to Ash and Emi as they soon noticed that Emi didn't exactly look like her brother as she had tanned skin and different shaded eyes, though they didn't say anything about it. Akito looked bashful as he couldn't see it before, he guessed he was too busy trying to get to know her better as he seemed to have his first love.

"Right with you!" Verity told Ash.

"I'll give you the first move!" Ash replied.

"Quit trying to be a gentleman," Verity smirked. "You may wind up regretting it! Now, Piplup, use Drill Peck!" she then told her Pokemon.

Piplup nodded and spun into action.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash exclaimed, and Pikachu did just that.

The two Pokemon collided in mid-air and fell back to the ground.

"Now, use Quick Attack!" said Ash. 

Pikachu darted towards Piplup, headbutting it and sending it rolling back.

"Good grief..." Ichabod rolled his eyes as Piplup shot Hydro Pump at Pikachu, sending him flying into a cluster of rocks.

Sandra simply face-palmed at the sight.

"Piplup, are you okay?" Verity asked her Pokemon.

"Never better!" Piplup replied.

"Then use Hydro Pump!" Verity then told her Pokemon.

"On it!" Piplup glared as it soon used its attack on Pikachu.

"Dodge it!" Ash cried out.

Piplup's attack then hit Carlos, Jay, Mal, and Evie as they sat on a pile of rocks.

"Hey! Watch it!" Mal glared as they got drenching wet.

Once the Hydro Pump cleared, they seemed to move slightly.

"Guys?" Evie asked. "Are rocks supposed to move when you sit on them?"

"Not normally," LJ replied.

Suddenly, the rocks rose up, revealing that they were actually an Onix! The giant stone snake roared as it rumbled towards Piplup. Ash leapt into its path to save Piplup and got him back to Verity.

"My Piplup!" The girl exclaimed.

"Here, let's move!" Ash told her.

"Right..." Verity replied as they both ran off, with the group running behind, and a very angry Onix in hot pursuit.

"Why does there always have to be running?" Felicity complained.

* * *

Meanwhile, a herd of Diglett were doing their usual business as wild Pokemon as a certain trio looked out for a certain Pokemon as they stood on a pile of stone together.

"Well, I'm here, so where's Entei?" The redheaded girl wondered as she took a look out with the cat Pokemon and the blue-haired boy.

They soon heard a rumbling from the ground which shook them up a bit.

"What's that?" The blue-haired boy wondered.

"Entei's coming to check us out!" The cat Pokemon grinned eagerly.

However, it was not Entei, it was Onix as it continued to chase after the other group which made the stone jump to the sky, along with the trio that was Team Rocket.

"We're blasting off again!" The trio cried out in misfortune from that as they were being shot to the sky like an actual rocket.

* * *

The group ran towards an embankment and slid down the side before Onix burst right through the wall and chased after them.

"It's still coming!" Carlos panicked.

"We can see that!" Jay replied. "Just keep running!"

Onix continued after them, getting closer and closer.

"That rock!" Ash called out. "Let's get on top of it!"

They all soon rushed to the rock to stand on top of, only for Onix to break through that next and they soon all went flying and ended up on the Rock Pokemon's back and were taken for a ride.

"Onix! Stop it!" Emi cried out. "You're only gonna hurt yourself this way!"

"Yelling at it is only going to make it worse!" Verity glared at her.

"I don't see YOU doing anything!" Emi retorted.

"So unless you have any better ideas, maybe you should quit yelling at my sister!" Ash snapped.

Verity growled from that.

"Ooh, she's a charmer." Mal rolled her eyes.

Ash soon got up on his feet and ran across Onix's body before jumping up in the air and sliding on the ground in front of the large Rock Pokemon.

"Ash!" Emi panicked.

"Use Whirlpool!" Verity told her Pokemon.

Piplup nodded and soon did just that as a Whirlpool splashed out and separated Onix and Ash from the impact.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Onix!" Ash called out to Onix. "I wish you'd just calm down, please!"

Onix hesitated, before tunneling back into the ground, while Verity and the others scrambled off its back in the nick of time.

"Talk about your rocky relationships..." Fishy Joe remarked.

"Onix!" yelled Verity. "I'm sorry!"

"That goes for me, too!" Piplup added.

"Whatya know?" Mal remarked. "That girl has some proper manners some of the times."

"Piplup, your Whirlpool really saved the day!" Ash smiled at the Bird Pokemon.

"Yeah, I guess it did!" Piplup smiled back.

"Ash, thank you," Verity soon said as she hugged her Pokemon. "I've gotta tell you. You do some dumb things, but I'm impressed. Also, I'm sorry I yelled at your sister."

"Forget it." Ash replied calmly.

Suddenly, they all began to feel drops from the sky which only meant one thing.

"Rain!" Ash realized.

"Just like that kid said!" Verity added.

"Whatya know?" Creepie remarked. "I guess he was a weatherman."

"Or maybe he knew how to tell when a rainstorm was coming?" asked LJ as they ran past a clearing. 

Nearby was a lone Charmander, perched on a rock, getting Ash's attention, and making him stop.

"What's that little guy doing out here by himself?" asked Ichabod. "Doesn't he know he could die if his tail flame gets splashed?"

"I don't think he even has a place to go." Sandra replied.

"It doesn't look like it's very happy." Verity remarked.

"Hey, what are you doing out in the rain like this?" Ash asked the Charmander.

"Yeah!" Pikachu added.

"I'm lost..." Charmander pouted. "I was put out here then--... Oh, wait! There's Cross!" he then beamed in excitement and rushed over to a redheaded boy.

"That must be its Trainer." Verity smiled hopefully for the Charmander.

* * *

"Cross, I was so worried!" Charmander beamed at the boy.

The boy kicked him in response with disgust. "You're still here? Go away."

"Hey!" Emi glared before she stormed towards the boy in anger. "Cross, is it? Is this your Charmander?" she then demanded to know.

"Who's asking?" Cross huffed at her.

" _She's_ asking," Akito replied. "If you're gonna own a Pokemon, then you better take care of it!"

Cross scoffed. "What, a wimpy little Charmander like that? Yeah, right!" he replied. "I've got no room for losers on MY team."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kimberly glared firmly with her hands on her hips.

"Are you or are you not this Charmander's trainer?" Emi added.

"What're you worked up about?" Cross huffed at them. "Yeah. Originally I was."

"Originally?" Sandra asked.

"I ditched the weakling," Cross replied. "There are Charmander like that one all over the place, but then, it just kept following me. So I told it to wait here."

"What an awful thing to say!" Ash scolded.

"Ash is right!" Verity added as she hugged Piplup. "When you've caught a Pokemon and then you tell it to wait, some of them will actually wait forever!"

"So what's the problem?" Cross ignored them.

"You could leave it to die alone!" Estelle shouted. "Is that really what you want?"

"I think you should mind your own business." Cross glared before his Lycanroc soon headbutted Estelle to the ground.

"Estelle!" Akito gasped for his twin sister before glaring almost like he had fire in his eyes at Cross. "Why, you!"

"Let's teach this punk weed some manners!" LJ declared.

"Bring it on, chumps!" Cross spat. "I'll send you all crying home!"

"Please, allow me to go first!" Pikachu glared as he hopped out.

"Get 'em, Pikachu!" Emi replied.

"Only a Pokemon's strength matters," Cross scoffed at them. "If it's gonna survive, it had better grow stronger!"

"What?!" The others gasped from that.

"Wait," Evie spoke up. "Isn't it a Trainer's job to help their Pokmon grow strong?!"

"Nah. And what do you get for that work anyway?" Cross rolled his eyes.

Ash glared firmly before he spoke again. "You get to become friends!"

The others felt surprised by that response.

"You're too soft," Cross rolled his eyes. "The only thing friendship does is make a Pokemon weak! My name's Cross. I'm going to become the greatest Trainer ever." he then said as he decided to leave with Lycanroc.

"C-Cross... Please... Wait for me..." Charmander called weakly before he fell flat in the ground.

"His flame!" Zofia frowned. "It's about died out."

"You're no trainer!" LJ spat as Sandra and Ichabod ran over to cover Charmander's flame. "Calling you scum would be an insult to scum everywhere! If you really think that strength is the only thing that matters when it comes to a Pokémon... Then you're as stupid as you look!"

"You can't talk to me like that," Cross glared at LJ. "You're just a little kid."

Zofia growled protectively of her brother from that.

"Oh, yeah? At least I'm not some heartless creep who'd leave a Pokemon to die just because it doesn't fit your idea of strength," LJ retorted. "You don't deserve to call yourself a Pokemon Trainer!"

Cross narrowed his eyes. Lycanroc came to tackle LJ, but Zofia pounced in front of the Pokemon and got hit instead, making her grunt.

"You better not anger me," Cross glared. "I think I know what's best for my Pokemon and you should mind your own business."

"When arrogant creeps like you decide to abandon Pokemon and attack my sister, I MAKE it my business!" LJ spat, storming over to Cross and shoving him over.

Cross grunted and glared at him.

"You okay, Zo?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Zofia said softly.

"You want that weak Charmander? Be my guest," Cross rolled his eyes. "He's outlived his usefulness to me."

"What a horrible thing to say!" Mal glared sharply.

"Like you're gonna do anything about it." Cross scoffed.

"That Charmander isn't the weak one," Ichabod spoke up. "If you're just willing to abandon it instead of actually putting in the effort to train it to get stronger, then you're the weakest of all."

"Whatever." Cross snorted as he decided to storm off.

Mal glowered before she softly looked down at the Charmander. "Poor guy," she said softly. "Abandoned by someone you thought you could trust and love." she then said as she thought about her own life about how she knew who her father was, but she never saw him because he thought that having a rock and roll music career was more important than being a good father and there for her, especially when her mother was worse for wear.

"You okay, Mal?" Felicity asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, Flick," Mal replied softly. "I'm just thinking about something about how sad I feel for Charmander."

"I do too." Felicity nodded from that.

"Guys, we've got to do something." Verity frowned as Charmander looked close to a premature death.

"Right." Ash nodded as he picked up Charmander and ran off with the sick Pokemon as they all soon ran through the rain to look for some sort of shelter.

"Maybe we can find a cave somewhere..." Vincent said as they ran for cover.

* * *

Fortunately, the group managed to find a cave located beneath a cliff and dry off.

"Huh?" Pikachu asked as he looked up.

Further inside the cave was Sorrel, and he'd apparently lit a fire to keep warm, but when he saw the Charmander near-death, he quickly jumped down and ran towards Ash. "YOU LEFT IT OUT IN THE RAIN?!" he shouted, angry. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

But Verity surprisingly came to Ash's defense. "It's not Ash's fault; we saved it after its trainer abandoned it." she explained. "It would've stayed out in the rain forever."

Sorrel was infuriated, but he couldn't be too cross with Ash since he did try to save the little fellow.

"Let's help it get some rest and get dry and warm." Emi suggested.

"That's a perfect idea." Sandra approved.

"Definitely," Creepie added. "Maybe we can still save it."

And so, they got a dry blanket and placed Charmander next to the roaring fire as it began to look a little happier already.

"Can you help?" Verity asked as Sorrel began to do whatever he could to nurse Charmander back to health.

"That's what I'm trying to do," Sorrel replied. "No Pokemon with that much loyalty is going to go untreated!"

"Poor Charmander." Pikachu and Piplup frowned.

The other Pokemon agreed to that as they sat with them while their trainers all looked concerned and Estelle took a spare blanket to wrap her Teddiursa egg inside of.


	4. Chapter 4

The group watched with curiosity as Sorrel continued mixing something together to help aid Charmander's recovery.

"Hopefully the new guy makes it..." Fishy Joe sighed. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he bit the big one."

Finally, Sorrel took a spoonful of the medicine and gave it to Charmander. "I know it's hard, but please take this..." he urged, as Charmander opened his mouth and let the spoon in. "That should stabilize you."

"What do we do now?" Evie asked.

"Wait for it to recover and make sure it doesn't get cold." Sorrel replied as he checked Charmander's forehead.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Carlos nodded from that.

"I'll warm it up!" Ash volunteered as he carried the ill Pokemon.

Charmander muttered a bit as his eyes began to open up.

"Don't worry, Charmander," Ash smiled at Charmander. "You'll be fine!"

Charmander still looked weary, so he closed his eyes again. Felicity smiled from that before looking at her friends with their Pokemon as Midreavus floated beside her.

"Aww... You got a thorn in your paw... Let's get that out..." Carlos cooed to Rockruff as he took the thorn out. "Much better, yeah?"

Rockruff then tackled Carlos and licked his face, making him laugh from that.

"So, Chatot, what're you thinking about right now?" Jay smirked.

"Jay rocks! Jay rocks!" Chatot squawked as Jay laughed from that.

Mal merely pet Murkrow in silence as she stared out the door of the cave as the rain poured down heavily.

"I have the cutest dress and bow for you," Evie smiled at Meowsic. "I hope that you love them."

"I'm sure I will," Meowsic smiled back. "You're so fashionably intelligent."

Evie beamed in response to the compliment. Ichabod was playing with Scraggy while Sandra and Gengar were playing cards. LJ sat with Kimberly, helping to keep her egg warm, while Fishy Joe kept Fennekin company. Felicity then smiled at Misdreavus who smiled back at her as this Pokemon thing was going to be a great experience. The rain continued to pour as everybody did their best to get comfortable as Ash comforted Charmander.

"I really hope we can help that Charmander." Emi said softly.

"I'm sure you did a great job in helping, Emi," Akito smiled bashfully as he kept his Larvitar egg warm. "You seem to be a natural when it comes to these Pokemon."

"Oh, uh, yes, I guess I do," Emi blushed. "I guess I'm like a Pokemon myself."

"In a matter of speaking... Yeah, I guess so." Akito blushed back.

For a moment, it seemed like time was standing completely still for the two of them.

"So... Emi..." Akito spoke up as he tried to keep calm. "I was hoping... Maybe we could see each other again after this is all over."

"What do you mean by that?" Emi asked curiously.

"Oh, well, I go on a lot of adventures with my friends, one place to another," Akito replied. "I'm not sure when I'd see you again after the adventure is over, but... I'd really like to run into you again someday."

"That would be nice..." Emi said softly. "But I guess we'd have to leave it up to the Fates to decide."

* * *

"The Fates..." Mal muttered to herself in the background. "Sounds like my dad's groupies and back-up singers."

"Well... Consider my curiosity piqued," LJ replied. "Who exactly IS your dad, anyway?"

Mal looked over softly.

"It's okay," Evie said. "He's Felicity's brother and our brother now too. You should tell him."

"I don't know," Mal sighed. "I mean, I trusted you out of you, Jay, and Carlos to know. I don't know if I could tell anyone else."

"Oh, come on; who would I even tell?" asked LJ. "More importantly, what would I even have to gain from telling?"

"Well... All right... I'll tell..." Mal then said.

Evie nodded in approval with a very happy smile as she was the most cheerful out of her friends.

"You ever hear of Hades?" Mal asked LJ.

"Not even a little." LJ replied.

Mal soon took out her backpack and reached inside of it and brought out a Rock & Roll magazine with a blue, flaming-headed man, wearing black leather. "This is Hades," she then said. "The God of Death Metal... And my father."

"Ah..." LJ replied. "...That is an insane amount of leather. I'm guessing he's barely around, so you more-or-less resent him for it?"

"He left after I was born," Mal said as she put the magazine back in her backpack. "When I was about six-years-old, he often sent letters or telegrams about inviting my mother and me to go visit where he would be, then he would leave new notes saying that he wouldn't be able to make it and would leave Pain and Panic at our disposal."

"Pain and Panic?" LJ then asked.

"Dad's roadies," Mal explained. "Sometimes he would call to say that he would be coming home, but then he'd call back at the last minute to say that he had too much work to leave where he was, so I'm more or less a bit irked with him, yeah."

"I see..." LJ replied. "Thanks for enlightening me."

"Sure," Mal said softly. "I gave up in waiting for him after I turned 10 and started to grow up."

Evie gently patted her best friend on the back from that.

"Be lucky you have the men in your life you do now," Mal told LJ. "They seem a lot better by comparison, especially the fatter one, compared to my old man. I bet anything that I have other brothers and sisters I don't know about that were conceived during his tours."

"Not a problem," LJ replied. "I love my dad and uncle, and as long as you're living under that roof, I reckon we consider you all family too."

"That's nice." Mal smiled sadly from that.

Murkrow nuzzled up to Mal to help make her feel better.

"Oh... Thanks..." Mal said as she pet the Pokemon that she liked the best which was now her very own.

"No problem." Murkrow replied calmly as they both watched the rainfall outside.

Mal nodded as she sat with Murkrow.

"We should leave Mal alone right now," Evie smiled at LJ. "You did a good thing though. I really think she's opening up a little more."

"Glad I could help." LJ nodded and went to rejoin the others around the campfire.

* * *

Emi soon sat with her brother as they kept Charmander company and warmth.

"What happened...?" Charmander muttered as his eyes soon opened up as he looked right at Ash.

Ash looked happy that Charmander woke up.

"You had a bit of a fainting spell, but it looks like you'll be okay now," Emi said. "How do you feel, are you still cold?"

"Are you tired?" Pikachu added.

"Are you hungry?" Piplup added.

"I feel great... A little bit..." Charmander smiled before he seemed to fall asleep again.

"Things are looking a lot better." Sorrel smiled for Charmander.

"It's definitely a great start," Ichabod nodded. "Just glad the little guy's gonna be alright after all."

"Yeah, that's a relief." Sandra added.

"Thanks a lot!" Ash and Emi beamed at Sorrel as he came to sit back down with his Lucario as most of the other Pokemon began to play together.

"You're like Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center!" Verity smiled.

"I'm hoping to become a Pokemon professor and you need medical training for that." Sorrel clarified.

"Wow..." Verity whispered.

"Right now, I'm traveling all over, gathering data on Legendary Pokemon." Sorrel then explained.

"So it's good that you ran into Entei, isn't it?" Verity soon asked.

"Of course," Sorrel nodded. "It was a priceless experience. By the way, why did you come here, Verity?" he then asked the brown-haired girl.

Verity looked a bit bashful about being put on the spot like that.

"You're a long way from home." Sorrel continued.

"Well... Long story," Verity replied before switching focus to Ash. "Hey, Ash, why are you here?" she asked.

"Who, me? I wanna be the world's greatest Pokemon Master!" Ash proclaimed.

"Master? Do you mean the world's best Trainer?" asked Sorrel.

"Oh, no way!" Ash replied. "Much more than that!"

"It's been a big dream of Ash's for as long as I can even remember." Emi added.

"And you're his sister?" Verity asked.

"Yes," Emi nodded. "I had to go with him to Professor Oak since our mother was too busy that I couldn't stay home, so I just decided to go along with him on this journey."

"And as for you all?" Verity then asked LJ, Zofia, Felicity, and all of the others.

"We're sorta just here to get out of the house," Akito replied. "Plus, gain some new experience points if you know what I mean, such as meeting and getting to know the world of Pokemon a little bit better."

"We're just in search of adventure," LJ explained. "And this is our first."

"Adventure, huh?" Verity asked. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

"More fun than you would know." Felicity beamed at that.

* * *

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in, making them shiver, even if they had the warm fire.

"It's so cold!" Verity shivered before she hugged herself.

Ash then sniffled before he suddenly sneezed.

"Are you all right?" Verity asked as Pikachu began to feel concerned for Ash.

"Sure! That was nothing!" Ash reassured.

Pikachu came up to Ash, and began rubbing his head on his shoulder.

"Trying to warm me up?" asked Ash.

"Maybe... Is it working?" Pikachu replied.

"Incoming!" Piplup declared as he leapt into Verity's lap.

"Thanks, Piplup..." The girl giggled.

Sorrel recalled Lucario back into his Pokeball. "As a precaution, you're going back inside; we shouldn't let the Pokemon spend all night in the cold." he advised.

"Makes sense." Emi nodded at that.

"You're right," Verity agreed as she took out her PokeBall as her Pokemon sat in her lap. "You, too, Piplup."

"You know... I'd like to do that, but Pikachu really can't stand getting into his PokeBall, right buddy?" Ash remarked.

"No way! No way!" Pikachu shook his head about going back into his PokeBall.

The others soon began to return their Pokemon back into their PokeBalls, though Lucario and Piplup refused to go.

"Whoa... I don't think that was supposed to happen." Creepie spoke up.

Eventually, both trainers relented and let their Pokemon keep them company. Just then, the group heard wet footsteps. Looking over to the cave entrance, they saw it was Entei, leading in a few other Pokemon to seek shelter from the rain. Entei made himself comfy on an opposite plateau, while the little Pokemon made themselves comfy around him.

"Seeing the fearsome forces of nature, people and Pokemon are the same." said Sorrel.

"Yeah..." Emi replied.

"There's a legend that proclaims Ho-Oh gave life to Entei." said Sorrel.

"You mean it?" asked Ash.

Sorrel nodded. "You see, around 150 years ago, there was a magnificent Bell Tower. And this Bell Tower made it possible for humans to actually make contact with Ho-Oh. But lightning struck the tower, engulfing it in flames," he then explained to them. "Suddenly, a great rain came down, and the flames were extinguished, but three nameless Pokmon succumbed to the inferno. Amidst the destruction, Ho-Oh descended and bestowed life upon them once again, and they were revived. They represented the lightning that struck, the flame that engulfed, and the water that extinguished the tower. Three natural forces made flesh: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune." he explained.

"Wow..." Carlos whispered out of vast interest.

"Fascinating." Kimberly added.

"Oh, I just love Suicune!" Verity beamed.

"And this is the Pokmon who guards over their existences: Ho-Oh." Sorrel then continued as he showed them a picture of a majestic-looking bird.

"Hey, we know that bird!" Emi called out.

"You've seen it?" Sorrel asked.

"Yeah, Emi's right!" Ash nodded as he rushed over to his vest to get something of the pocket. "The first day we started out on our journey!"

"Are you serious?" Sorrel asked.

"Yeah! And as soon as we did... This came floating down!" Ash replied before he took out a glowing feather from his vest pocket.

"No way!" Sorrel gasped. "You got the Rainbow Wing!"

Entei looked on in curiosity, as well as something hiding within his shadow.

"Few people have ever seen Ho-Oh, and on rare occasions, it is said to bestow a Rainbow Wing to a human it particularly likes." Sorrel explained.

"I guess it means Ho-Oh likes me, huh?" Ash smiled.

"But... Why would Ho-Oh do that?" Verity asked.

"Natural selection?" Kimberly shrugged.

"There's a legend that explains it," Sorrel explained to the others. "It says there is a Rainbow Hero who is led by the Rainbow Wing to seek out Ho-Oh."

"A Rainbow Hero?" Kimberly asked with a smile. "That sounds so majestic and amazing."

"I don't know about any of this, but it's cool..." Ash had to admit.

"Oh. Impressed with yourself, huh?" Verity teased.

"Oops!" Ash replied.

"Typical Ash." Emi giggled before she unknowingly leaned against Akito's shoulder.

Akito blushed at that, but he didn't say anything as he kept her there.

* * *

Soon, the group had fallen asleep, and the fire was burning low. Creepie woke up briefly before her eyes widened as a pair of red eyes were shown right beside Ash as he fell asleep holding onto Charmander.

A new Pokemon phased through the rock wall behind the boy who appeared to be like a black shadow ghost of some sorts.

"What is that?" Creepie wondered to herself. "A ghost?" she then sat on her knees before she rubbed her eyes and looked over to see that the mysterious Pokemon was suddenly gone before she shrugged and decided to go back to sleep.

Akito and Emi seemed to hold onto each other in their sleep as they both soon seemed to be dreaming about each other like they were lovebirds at a young age, but they didn't mind about that or cared.

"Dad... Why did you leave me...?" Mal muttered to herself in her sleep.

Murkrow draped his wing over her side to comfort her. Mal whimpered a bit before she snuggled into her Murkrow like a stuffed animal.

* * *

Eventually, some time passed as everyone was still sound asleep before they were now beginning to slowly wake up.

"Hey... Hey!" Pikachu smiled. "Ash! Emi! Wake up! It's morning!"

Ash and Emi grunted before they soon woke up after their Pokemon.

"Morning, Piplup!" Verity smiled at her Pokemon. "Sleep well?"

"Like a rock!" Piplup smiled back.

"Looks like Entei and his charges have left..." LJ yawned.

Charmander blinked as it woke up. "Good... Morning..." he yawned.

"Hey, Charmander," Ash beamed. "Feel better?"

"Actually... Yeah, I am!" Charmander replied as it got to its feet, with its tail flame burning brightly.

"Oh, thank goodness." Emi smiled in relief for the Charmander.

"Yay! You're okay!" Pikachu and Piplup cheered for Charmander.

Fennekin and Fishy Joe both looked relieved for Charmander with the other Pokemon.

"Let's see..." Sorrel said as he took a look at Charmander's tail flame which was big and bright. "Your tail flame looks good. Yup. That tells me you're back to feeling fine! You're good to go." he then nodded.

"Hooray for me!" Charmander beamed.

"Isn't that great, Charmander?" Ash smiled at the Pokemon.

"Yeah." Charmander replied softly.

"Hey... You wanna come along with us?" Ash invited. "I'd like us to become good friends."

Charmander looked at him, though looked a little soft and sad as he thought about Cross abandoning him in the rain.

"Please...?" Ash asked.

"Hmm... Okay." Charmander replied with a nod.

"You really mean it?" asked Ash, his eyes wide.

"'Course I do!" Charmander replied, now smiling.

Ash reached onto his belt and tapped Charmander with a Pokeball. It opened, and Charmander was pulled inside.

"I just got... A Charmander!" Ash exclaimed triumphantly.

"Way to go, Ash!" Verity beamed.

Piplup and Pikachu cheered for him as well. Carlos hummed the tune again.

"Cut it out." Jay complained.

"Can't help it," Carlos smirked. "It sounds cool."

Jay rolled his eyes at that.

"Well, as much as I like this moist, dark cave that reminds me of my bedroom, I guess we oughta carry on with the journey." Creepie suggested.

"Too true, luv!" LJ said in a cockney accent. "So let's hit the trail!" And he sprinted out, whistling to himself.

Kimberly giggled a little from that.

"Here we go." Akito then said as he carried his Larvitar egg.

* * *

They soon left the cave as they were met with the morning sun. The Pokemon moved on out happily and cheerfully before they suddenly came to a stop with their trainers as they saw something quite perplexing.

"Oh, wow..." Kimberly whispered with dewy, happy eyes. "What a beautiful rainbow!"

"It's... It's cool, I guess..." Mal said. "I don't think I've actually seen a rainbow up close like this."

"It's a very wonderful sight." Felicity nodded at her friend.

"They say that Ho-Oh lives at the end of the rainbow," stated Sorrel.

Just then, there was a bright glow from inside Ash's front lapel pocket. He reached in and pulled out the Rainbow Wing, which was apparently responding to the glow of the rainbow.

"The legend says that the Rainbow Wing will guide you..." Sorrel explained as everyone looked on in amazement.

"Sorrel, you're so wise." Kimberly said.

"It comes with my territory." Sorrel smiled.

The red eyes blinked before the Pokemon that Creepie saw last night came back through the ground, right behind the group.

"So, what's over that way?" Estelle asked as she cradled her Teddiursa egg.

"There are quite a number of steep mountains over there," Sorrel said as he looked at a map on his phone. "The Raizen Mountain Range."

"I know!" Ash beamed as he held the feather with pride. "I'm gonna meet Ho-Oh and have a Pokemon battle!"

"With a legendary Pokémon?" LJ asked. "Well, you definitely know how to aim high..."

"I'd love to meet Ho-Oh, too!" Verity beamed.

"So would I!" Sorrel added. "Then I can determine for myself whether the legend of the Rainbow Hero, is actually true."

"And we're all definitely in." The others agreed from that.

"Let's get going then, right Ash?" Emi smiled at her brother.

"Yeah! C'mon!" Ash nodded. "We've gotta get moving and find Ho-Oh!"

"Right!" Everybody else cheered in agreement and excitement.

* * *

And so, it was decided that the team would set forth to meet the mysterious Ho-Oh, but unfortunately, there were three certain snoopers lurking around and listening in.

"That's music to my ears..." The redheaded girl named Jessie smirked.

"Entei proved too elusive, but..." The blue-haired male named James added.

"Catching Ho-Oh would rule!" The cat-like Pokemon named Meowth concluded.

"We're so cool..." The trio then grinned at that together.


	5. Chapter 5

Later, the kids decided to go swimming in a nearby creek, while Sorrel and the others supervised from land. Estelle giggled happily as she really loved the swimming so far. Creepie smiled calmly as she joined the others in the water.

"I think now would be a good time for a montage." Zofia hinted.

"Sure feels like it." LJ replied.

They soon continued to swim for a good while.

* * *

Eventually, as they went back on the road, they had to battle some Pokemon which came with an adventure like this, finding some new ones in their path, though mostly for Ash and Emi. A wild Pokemon known as a Pinsir soon came out.

"A Bug-type against a Bug-type!" Ash cheered as he tossed out a new PokeBall. "Yeah! Caterpie, I choose you!"

Out came a green caterpillar-like Pokemon.

"'Kay, Caterpie use String Shot!" Ash called out.

Caterpie soon did as it was told, trapping and ensnaring Pinsir in a sticky substance like from a spider's web and jumped up in the air before holding it up and slamming it down to win the battle.

"All right!" Ash cheered at first until he saw something strange. "...Huh?" he then blinked as the caterpillar-like Pokemon began to glow.

When the glowing faded, Caterpie was now a crescent-shaped creature with two yellow eyes.

"Looks like your Caterpie is a Metapod!" exclaimed LJ. "And I got this one!" He took out a PokéBall and threw it at Pinsir, catching it.

"Congratulations, Brother." Zofia smiled.

"Yes, just be careful with that thing around the house." Felicity added with a giggle.

"Sure, not a problem!" LJ replied confidently before the ball burst open and the Pinsir ran after him, snapping its jaws. "Okay, I rescind my previous statement!"

Zofia and Felicity looked concerned from that.

"Stop it!" Kimberly called out to Pinsir. "Cut that out!"

Pinsir just kept on chasing after LJ like a predator against its prey, seeming to be mad about being sent into a PokeBall.

"It was a joke, see? A gag!" LJ yelped. "C'mon, whatever happened to let bygones be bygones, eh?"

"Pinsir!" Emi cried out.

Pinsir seemed to stop and listen to her.

"Leave him alone!" Emi told the Pokemon. "He didn't mean to hurt you!"

Pinsir found itself compelled to listen to Emi, so it stopped what it was doing.

"...How did it work when you did it, but not us?" Zofia wondered.

"I... I'm not sure..." Emi said as she sounded surprised just as well as they did.

"Maybe she has some sort of spiritual connection with them?" LJ asked as he climbed down from the tree he was clinging to.

"Could it be possible?" Emi wondered.

"Hey, it couldn't hurt," Akito shrugged. "I guess we should ask a certain someone if he knows anything about that."

"Probably." Estelle agreed with her twin brother.

Pinsir soon began to flee away from LJ.

"Well... Glad that's been solved!" LJ sighed in relief.

"You're not injured, are you?" Zofia asked as she checked over LJ just to make sure he didn't have any bruises.

"No, just a little out of breath..." LJ replied.

"I'm glad you're safe," Zofia looked relieved. "I guess that Pinsir's not ready to leave home just yet."

"Yeah, I guess not..." LJ replied.

"Pinsir's getting away." Verity told Ash.

"That's okay! This is what counts," Ash smiled as he hugged his newly evolved Pokemon. "Congratulations, Metapod!"

"Thank you!" Metapod replied.

"This is just so amazing and awesome!" Pikachu beamed out of excitement.

Akito and Estelle's Pokemon eggs glowed even brighter from inside their containers.

"Wow," Felicity said to her cousins. "Looks like those eggs are close to hatching any day now."

"Yeah... I can hardly wait!" Akito beamed, proudly hugging his egg.

"It's going to be a proud, proud moment." Estelle added as she hugged her egg.

"I wonder if there are any unicorn Pokemon?" Kimberly smiled hopefully.

"Girl loves her unicorns, huh?" Jay asked.

"Yes, Jay, and we're not going to make fun of her for it." Mal replied with a smirk.

"If you know what's good for ya!" LJ added. "Well, there's Rapidash, which evolves from Ponyta..."

"Maybe," Kimberly smiled. "I just love ponies and unicorns."

"So we've heard," Zofia replied. "You just live in a fantasy world, don't you, Kim?"

"I tend to, yes." Kimberly nodded innocently.

"And I love her for it." LJ smiled.

"Aw, thanks, LJ." Kimberly blushed from that.

"You're welcome." LJ replied.

* * *

They soon went to go further before they had to stop for another night and camped out together. However, as most of the others were fast asleep, Verity was wide awake as Mal read her rock & roll magazine until she would fall asleep as she was mostly reading about her father going on tour with another rock & roll god known as Chernabog who mostly did gothic rock. The purple-haired girl wiped her eyes as they itched with tears before she hugged the magazine like it was all she had left of her father before she decided to get some sleep before she looked over at Verity. She was looking through her phone pictures, reflecting on all the places they had been recently... Even with a picture of her mother.

"Feeling homesick, Verity?" Mal asked, right behind the girl.

"Ooh!" Verity gasped as she held her phone. "Oh, hi, Mel. Yeah, a little bit."

"First of all, it's _Mal_ ," The purple-haired girl corrected as she started to reply. "And secondly, that makes sense. We're all pretty far from home."

"You miss your parents too?" Verity asked.

"...My parents are an interesting story..." Mal said as she glanced away in the distance. "Your mother seems nice though."

"I guess we're both a little homesick." Verity smiled sadly.

"Yeah..." Mal replied. "But at least _your_ mom cares about you."

"What's your mom like?" Verity asked.

"...My mother is an interesting case," Mal heaved a sharp sigh as she played with her necklace that she wore that had a silver charm on it that was split down in half, as if the other half was missing. "I usually try not to think about her a lot. Not like my father's any better though."

"Oh... Well... That's a nice necklace..." Verity said as she tried to change the subject.

"Yeah," Mal sighed as she held her necklace. "I've worn this necklace since I was born. For some reason, it's broken in half though, but I don't care. It goes with my outfits just the same."

"Well... I think it looks nice on you." Verity replied. "Really pulls your whole look together."

"Hm... Thanks," Mal smirked. "You don't look too bad yourself. Blue's probably my second favorite color next to black and maybe purple."

"Thanks!" Verity smiled as they sat together and enjoyed the view.

Mal sat with Verity as they looked out together before a small smile crept onto her face as they became close. The water seemed to move a little which made both girls look curious before they looked over to see a quadruped Pokemon not too far from them.

"Whoa... Neat..." Mal whispered in awestruck. "What kind is that?"

"Mal, I can't believe it," Verity replied. "But that's... That's... That's Suicune!"

"It's super rare, right?" Mal asked.

"Yeah...!" Verity gushed quietly.

Mal soon brought out a PokeBall.

"Oh, Mal, no, no," Verity said as she took Mal's arm to stop her. "We shouldn't catch it. We should just have fun and experience this moment for ourselves."

"You don't wanna catch it?" Mal asked, sounding confused and surprised.

"No, as much as I love it, it's better this way," Verity replied. "I'm glad I got to see Suicune with you though."

"...Yeah, I guess this is pretty nice." Mal replied, settling in to enjoy the moment.

Verity smiled as they both watched Suicune. Eventually, the girls fell asleep and after they did, the Pokemon left.

* * *

The next morning then came as everybody went out to hike again through the forests and Mal and Verity told the others what they saw last night before falling asleep.

"Really? Suicune?!" Ash gasped at the girls.

"Standing right in front of us." Verity nodded.

"Man, I wish I could've been there..." Emi remarked.

"Our eyes met... And it was like time stopped." Mal soon added.

"Yeah," Verity nodded. "We were so connected."

"Okay, that sounds amazing," Sandra replied. "A one-in-a-million opportunity."

"It sure is," Sorrel added. "To meet Suicune so soon after seeing Entei. Incredible luck."

The Pokemon soon came to a bush that had some berries on it, so they decided to pick them and eat them happily.

"I think so, too!" Verity replied. "I wonder how my mom would feel about it?"

The others looked curious as Verity mentioned her mother like that.

"Oh. My mother... She's a famous Pokemon Trainer back home," Verity explained before she looked a bit bashful. "Nothing I ever do is good enough for her. If I'm honest, we haven't talked since I left."

"Gee... That's pretty rough," Ichabod replied. "I mean, I only see my mom on weekends cuz my dad has custody, but still."

"I can't imagine where I'd be without my parents." Creepie said softly.

"Her family's pretty close-knit." Zofia said to the others.

"I can tell." Sandra nodded at that.

"You know what I think?" Sorrel spoke up. "I think she would be proud of you."

"He's right!" Ash added from that.

"...Maybe." Verity replied after a brief moment of hesitance.

"Of course she will." Emi smiled knowingly, even if Verity wasn't too sure herself.

* * *

Eventually, they came to a battle ground and met someone who had a Jigglypuff who soon challenged Ash and Charmander to battle.

"Jigglypuff, Double Slap, go!" The woman told her Pokemon.

"I'm on it!" Jigglypuff beamed as it began to attack.

"Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Ash then commanded.

"You got it!" Charmander replied before he shot fire at Jigglypuff. "Take THIS, you giant marshmallow!"

Jigglypuff yelped in shock as it was hit head-on by the fire blast, being engulfed in a smoke cloud. As the smoke cleared, Jigglypuff stumbled out and fell over.

"Jigglypuff is unable to battle," declared Verity as Jigglypuff was recalled into its Pokeball. "Ash is the winner!"

"Great work, Charmander!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu and Piplup cheered.

"Thanks!" Charmander exclaimed as he ran over to Ash until his body began to glow brightly. He leapt into the air, and when he came back down, he looked taller and had a visible crest on his head as he tackled Ash playfully. "Ohhhh... **YEAH!** " he exclaimed.

"You evolved into Charmeleon..." Ash exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

"Aw, it was no problem." Charmeleon replied.

"Neat," Emi giggled as she pet Charmeleon. "I like this form."

"Yeah, it's almost like you have your own pet dragon." Akito replied.

"Yeah, that's a pretty cool way to look at it." Emi smiled at him.

* * *

Later that evening, Verity and Sorrel were introduced to Delia, via the videophone.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Verity!" Verity smiled.

"And I'm Piplup!" Piplup chimed in.

"I'm Sorrel." greeted Sorrel.

"Lucario." Lucario grunted.

Emi smiled fondly from that.

 ** _"I hope Ash or Emi haven't been causing you too much trouble,"_ **Delia smiled. **_"Oh, well! Ash is rambunctious, but he's got a big heart. I hope you'll all be good friends!"_**

"Mom, I wish you'd stop worrying..." Ash sighed to his mother.

"Also, I love it with Ash!" Emi beamed. "I wanna keep traveling with him and our new friends!"

* * *

Shortly after, Ash and the others joined Sorrel, who was looking through a book nearby.

"Sorrel, you find anything?" asked Jay.

"Yes, this is an excellent book," Sorrel replied. "So well-researched. Listen: From high above, Ho-Oh watched over the many works of people and of Pokemon, and they experienced the Aura of Happiness. And they received energy from it. And yet, the Heart of Evil stole strength from it."

That baffled the group, as Sorrel turned the page.

"What's that?" asked Verity, pointing at a picture that showed people backing away from a purplish-black Rainbow Wing.

"When the Rainbow Wing touches the Heart of Evil, its color vanishes." Sorrel explained.

"That sounds horrible." Kimberly frowned.

"The Heart of Evil?" Ash asked.

"Its color vanishes?" Verity added.

"Looks like Ash's is just fine." Emi remarked.

"Like your mom said, he may be a little rambunctious, but he sure doesn't have an evil heart." Verity nodded.

"That's right!" Ash beamed. "'Cuz I'm big-hearted and rambunctious!"

The others laughed a bit from that as it sounded pretty funny.

"Knock it off!" Ash complained. "That's not nice! Quit laughing!"

They were then being secretly watched by someone... Someone rather crude and familiar.

* * *

The next day, Pikachu was in a battle against a Snorlax; he tried using Iron Tail on him, but Snorlax kept on leaping away before it decided to bodyslam him.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash told his friend.

"Can do!" Pikachu declared as his tail gained a metallic sheen; but before he could use it, Snorlax slammed down on top of him, creating a massive dust cloud.

The others looked worried and in deep suspense as it was unclear if Pikachu was safe. Snorlax rested on top of Pikachu before the Electric Mouse Pokemon flung the bigger Pokemon in the air.

"Oh, thank goodness." Kimberly said as Sandra patted her on the back.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash then commanded.

" **EAT _THIS_!**" Pikachu snarled as he shot at the Snorlax.

"Whoa..." Felicity muttered as that almost looked like overkill, but she then remembered that this was just normal in the world of Pokemon.

Snorlax seemed to get fried to a crisp from the Thunderbolt and soon landed flat before it was knocked out.

"Snorlax is unable to battle!" The announcer proclaimed. "Ash is the winner!"

As Snorlax's trainer recalled it to its ball, Ash slapped a hi-five with Pikachu's tail. "All right!" he exclaimed.

"Very nice!" Verity applauded as Piplup danced around.

"Since Ash is victorious, who is his _next_ challenger?" asked the announcer.

Verity turned to Piplup. "So, whaddya say, Piplup?"

But before she could answer, a voice beat her to the punch. " _I_ am!"

At once, everyone turned to see who was talking, and it was none other than Cross himself.

"Oh, great," Jay rolled his eyes. "Look who's back."

"That jerk." Pikachu glowered along with Ash.

"It's Cross!" Verity glared.

"So _he's_ the trainer you were talking about..." Sorrel remarked.

Verity nodded firmly from that.

"I heard a rumor, you started working with that useless Charmander." Cross smirked at Ash.

"There's no such thing as a useless Pokemon!" Ash glared at Cross. "Emi, you care to do the honors?" he then asked his sister.

"Sure, Ash!" Emi replied before she tossed the PokeBall. "Charmeleon, go!"

Charmeleon burst from his ball as he took a stance. "All fired up!" he declared.

"After all, no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher." LJ added.

"When a Pokemon works with a good trainer, it gets stronger!" Emi glared.

"We wouldn't expect you to understand!" Akito added.

"All right, my strong Fire-type Pokemon, Incineroar, to arms!" Cross smirked before he tossed his PokeBall.

Out came a Pokemon that stood on two legs, looking a bit like a black and red lion as it roared, coming out from the PokeBall.

"Whoa." Mal, Evie, Jay, Felicity, and Carlos muttered.

"...Now come at me." Cross spat.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.

Charmeleon opened its maw and shot out a blast of flames, but Incineroar took it head-on.

"That's it!" Ash beamed, but his smile disappeared with the smoke because Incineroar was barely scratched. "Use Slash!" he then told Charmeleon, who charged and raised his claws in the air before bringing them down towards his opponent.

Incineroar raised his arms to block the claws, though this sent him sliding back.

"Yes!" exclaimed Ash triumphantly.

Incineroar shook a bit from the impact while everyone looked happy for Ash, though Sorrel looked suspicious.

"That's odd..." Sorrel muttered to himself.

Felicity looked concerned from that as she held onto Misdreavus.

"Keep it up, Charmeleon!" Ash soon called out. "Seismic Toss, now!"

Charmeleon grinned as he charged right for Incineroar and grabbed the other Pokemon by his tail as they went high in the air together before Incineroar was thrown to the ground hard and crashed in the middle of the battleground.

"Incineroar? Let's do it." Cross signaled.

Incineroar seemed to grin darkly at that.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Ash then called out.

Charmander took a deep breath and soon shot out flames from his mouth.

"And we'll use Flamethrower, too!" Cross then told Incineroar.

Incineroar shot out flames of its own as well, and the two fires clashed with one another, pushing against each other... Until Charmeleon was sent flying back into the wall. 

"Charmeleon!" Ash cried.

"Are you okay?!" Pikachu added.

"Felt... Worse..." Charmeleon grunted as he got to his feet.

"Of course!" Sorrel realized.

"Huh?" asked Felicity.

"When Incineroar takes enough damage, it gains more power." explained Sorrel.

"But... That would mean--" Verity began.

"That it took the attacks on purpose." Sorrel concluded.

"This isn't looking good..." LJ gulped.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Ash soon called out.

Emi looked very worried about the Pokemon right now. Charmeleon tried to use Flamethrower again, but it just coughed up flames, unable to proceed with the attack.

"It can't keep up!" Verity yelped.

"Its newly-evolved powers aren't ready!" Sorrel warned. "Ash shouldn't be relying on strength alone..."

"Use Fire Fang!" Cross told his Pokemon.

Incineroar ran towards Charmeleon, his energy forming into a fiery pair of teeth, which clamped down and shot Charmeleon into the sky.

"Use Throat Chop!" Cross then told his Pokemon who was stronger than Charmeleon right about now.

"Man, this is too much, even for me!" Sandra cried out.

Incineroar leapt into the air with a manic smile and delivered a devastating punch to Charmeleon's throat, before throwing him to the ground like a football. Charmeleon hit the ground with a massive CRASH!

"Ouch..." Creepie winced. "That has gotta hurt."

"Tell me about it." Kimberly agreed.

* * *

Ash and Emi raced over to Charmeleon along with Pikachu as things looked very bad for the Fire-Type Pokemon.

"Charmeleon is unable to battle!" The announcer soon announced. "The winner is Incineroar!"

The audience applauded from the battle as the others soon came to join Ash and Emi by Charmeleon's sides.

"Oh, Chameleon," Emi frowned. "I wish I could help you."

Ash looked mortified as he could only gaze on Charmeleon's battered, beaten body.

"You're too soft!" Cross bellowed.

Ash turned to face him.

"You battled using cheap friendship, and called moves that your Pokemon couldn't use, so you lost," Cross told him. "You're the worst Trainer I've ever seen, and... You'll _never_ win!"

Akito narrowed his eyes sharply. Ash just growled at Cross, but he didn't let his anger get to him.

"Well, where do you get off?" Akito glared at Cross. "You left your Pokemon out for dead!"

"I've already told you," Cross huffed. "It ain't a pretty world all the time, Shortstuff."

"Leave him alone!" Estelle glared.

"I bet your Pokemon will be weak too with you two as trainers." Cross said as he scoffed at their Pokemon eggs.

Akito and Estelle glared at Cross as they held onto their eggs carefully as they were so close to hatching. Later that night, they came to the closest Pokemon Center and Nurse Joy did her job.

"Thank you so much, Nurse Joy," Mal said in relief. "I've gotten so attached to Murkrow, I can't imagine what I would do without him by my side."

"I know I feel the same about me with Rockruff," Carlos smiled. "Maybe I should be a Pokemon Nurse when I grow up too."

"I'm sure they got a skirt your size," Jay smirked. "Everyone knows that nurses are girls."


	6. Chapter 6

"Guys can be nurses too, wise guy," LJ told him. "It's an equal-opportunity world."

"Oh, uh, yeah?" Jay asked like that was news to him.

"Jerk." Mal said as she swatted his arm which made him flinch and hold his arm.

"Ow! Hey, how was I supposed to know?" Jay groaned as he held his arm from that.

"Nurse Joy, will our Pokemon hatch soon?" Estelle pouted.

"Yeah, I wanna hang out with Larvitar already." Akito added.

"You're getting very close now," Nurse Joy smiled. "You're taking such good care of them."

Kimberly beamed. "Thanks, Nurse Joy. We're gonna keep on taking care of them!" she declared.

"I'm certain you all will," Nurse Joy replied before she gave Ash his Pokeball. "Your Pokemon is fully rested and back to normal."

"Thanks very much," Ash said solemnly before he pocketed the ball and walked out.

"Oh, Ash." Emi frowned softly.

"Cheer up, Charmeleon's fine!" Verity soothed the boy.

"That guy... His training is totally wrong!" Ash huffed a bit.

"Oh, Ash." Pikachu even voiced concern for his trainer.

"I know I should have won that thing, but..." Ash sighed sharply.

"Try as you might, you cannot deny his convictions," Sorrel advised. "He and Incineroar are bonded together through their shared belief in pure, raw strength."

"Even so, it's wrong for a guy like that to win!" Ash remarked as he turned his head sharply.

"I agree," Carlos replied. "He's such a Chad."

"Your first step needs to be accepting that you lost." Sorrel told Ash.

"Can't you channel the frustration of losing into working hard so that you'll win next time?" asked Verity.

"Yeah, I hear ya..." Ash replied, disinterested. "You know... Pikachu would've won that thing."

"Ash, you shouldn't say that," Verity told him. "What if Charmeleon heard you?"

Ash gasped sharply and began to clench his fists.

"If winning's all you care about," Sorrel said. "then you're no different than Cross!"

In a fit of blind fury, Ash took off into the woods.

"Ash!" Emi cried out.

"Oh, my." Zofia frowned in concern.

The red eyes appeared in the ground before disappearing again.

"Ash, wait!" Verity cried out as she went after the boy.

"Hold on!" Sorrel added as he did the same. "Ash come back!"

The others soon began to follow after Ash as he went through an emotional breakdown. The sun began to set as the moon came out, bringing them into nightfall and Ash still refused to go back to his friends.

"What's with those two... Thinkin' they're so smart?" Ash muttered under his breath.

"Ash, wait!" Pikachu called.

"Hey, I'm right, don'cha think?" Ash asked his friend.

"Well... Not really..." Pikachu replied.

A dark look crossed Ash's face. "Oh, so you're saying it's MY fault, huh?" he asked. "Even Pikachu... Man!" he grumbled as he stomped off into the woods.

"Oh, Ash." Pikachu sighed before he began to follow after Pikachu.

"Ash, wait, please," Emi pleaded as she caught up to her brother. "Let's talk."

"Oh, great, just what I need." Ash complained.

"Ash, please don't be mad." Pikachu pouted softly.

"If only my first Pokemon had been a Squirtle or a Bulbasaur..." Ash sighed to himself, unaware that he had company right behind him. "Or maybe if Mom didn't make Emi come with me."

"Huh? Hey!" Pikachu gasped before glaring.

"Just what is _that_ supposed to mean, Ash Ketchum?!" Emi added firmly.

Ash just gripped his fists together and kept on walking as the same pair of tiny red eyes appeared in his shadow, leaving Pikachu and Emi behind. Finally, he turned around, only to see he was all by himself.

* * *

Nervous, Ash went back to the path he was on, but saw nobody there. "Pikachu? Emi?" he called out softly before growling at himself and came to the nearby tree as he took out the colorful feather from inside his vest pocket. "Ho-Oh, I thought I was the Rainbow hero," he sighed to himself before he came to sit down and squeezed his eyes shut. "Who needs Pikachu or Emi anyway?! I'm just fine... All by myself!"

"Perhaps we should see about that..." A voice whispered with the red eyes, emerging from the tree trunk.

Ash's eyes began to glow before he closed them shut and dropped the feather as it faded to a dull, graying color as something strange was about to happen.

* * *

In a completely grayscale world, Delia poked her head into her son's room.

"Ash Ketchum, are you _still_ asleep?" she asked. "You'll be late for Professor Oak's class!"

"Yeah... Right... Zzz..." Ash mumbled until he shot awake. "Mom, why didn't you wake me up?!" he asked before he tumbled off of his bed and onto the floor.

Emi looked down at her brother, though she seemed to be a blank void and without a face, but he didn't notice.

Ash then zipped right past his mother and sister to get to where he needed to go and got himself dressed and ready. "Professor Oak!" he then called to the older man.

"Oh, if it isn't Ash..." Professor Oak greeted as he watered his plants.

"Am I on time?" Ash asked.

"There are four students who came to school late, and you were the latest of them all." Professor Oak replied.

Ash looked a bit struck from that before he was in the classroom with his fellow students.

"Ash, you're late!" Verity scolded from her desk.

"I overslept a little." Ash replied.

"Where's your homework?" Sorrel asked.

"Aw, I forgot it!" Ash then cried out before he thought he saw Pikachu running across the floor.

"What were you thinking?!" Verity scolded as she leaned back in her seat.

Ash blinked in surprise, but when he looked again, Pikachu was no longer there.

"Ash, what is it?" Verity soon asked.

"uh... It's nothing..." Ash replied once Pikachu was gone.

"You're weird." Verity muttered.

* * *

Eventually, it was time for class to start.

"The subject of today's class is rainbows," The teacher began to lecture. "Rainbows are caused by the sun's rays moving through the atmosphere, and when they encounter water vapor, their light is bent and refracted, causing a multicolored arc. Children, have you ever..." her voice the began to fade from that.

Ash stared out the window he sat beside as he thought he saw a brightly-colored Ho-Oh in the sky, but when he tried to get a closer look, it was merely a passing by airplane in the sky.

* * *

Later that day, Ash was staring through the chain-link fence.

"How long are you gonna stand there?" asked Verity, jolting him out of his thoughts. Ash turned and saw that she was also accompanied by Sorrel.

"What's on your mind?" Sorrel asked.

Ash sighed. "I was just wondering what's way out there..." he replied.

"Let's see," Sorrel paused thoughtfully. "There are forests and rivers, and mountains... And there's the next town, too." he then informed.

"And past that?" Ash then asked.

"More forests and rivers," Sorrel replied. "And eventually, you get to the sea."

"And past that?" Ash then asked again.

"Uh..." Sorrel blinked.

"I'm sure it's more of the same." Verity told Ash.

"The thing is... You never know until you go there," Ash then said as he looked out to the distance again. "For me... I wanna see what's out there with my own eyes."

"On a journey?" Verity asked. "Sounds like fun. You don't have to worry about school and schedules."

"You can see lots of new things in places you never even knew about." Sorrel added in.

"And at night, I can look at the stars and talk things over with friends I'm traveling with, and as long as my buddy and sister are with me, I can go anywhere." Ash then remarked.

"Your buddy?" Verity asked.

"What buddy?" Sorrel added. "And what about your sister?"

"You even have to ask?" Ash beamed brightly. "My buddy and sister are with me all the time!" he then paused thoughtfully as that hit him pretty hard. "Always..."

Suddenly, he saw a flash on his shoulder, and at his side....and his eyes grew wet. Ash knew he had screwed up big time earlier, and had to make it right.

"You're crying..." Verity pointed out.

Ash wiped his eyes. "I am, so?" he asked.

"So pull yourself together!" Verity told him.

"What's the matter?" asked Sorrel.

Ash wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled warmly... Until he saw that he was now all by himself on the rooftop. He looked all around for somebody, but he seemed to be all alone.That was, until two blurry images of Pikachu and Emi appeared before they began to run away together.

"Hey, wait!" Ash cried out as he began to chase after the two.

It was a pretty long run as they soon seemed to make it into the city.

"Of course!" Ash realized to himself. "We used to run like this all the time! But... But... I can't remember who you are!"

Pikachu and Emi called out, sounding a bit echoey as they continued to run together.

"You were my very best friend and my little sister, but..." Ash began to sound sad. "Don't gooooo!"

The world all around them began to crumble and fall like it was falling apart before the floor opened up as they were being sent away in some sort of black void before Ash was able to hold onto Emi and Pikachu which returned the color and Ash's happiness.

"Pikachu! Emi!" Ash then beamed once he saw them before he looked down and yelled out as it looked like he was tumbling straight down into a garden filled with yellow-colored flowers as he was closer and closer to hitting the ground, until...

* * *

Ash yelled out as he soon woke up before seeing Emi kneeling in front of him with Pikachu as they both looked concerned for him.

"Oh, good; he's not dead." LJ sighed in relief.

"Hey, you're awake!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Pikachu! Emi!" Ash exclaimed, hugging them both. "I'm sorry, it WAS all my fault! I should've been a better brother... AND a better friend."

The red eyes faded around as Creepie seemed to be the only one to see that, next to maybe Piplup.

"It's okay, Ash, it's okay." Emi soothed her big brother.

"Look, Ash. Here." Verity soon said as she brought out a certain feather that was on the ground.

"Thank you very much." Ash smiled as he accepted it.

"Do you know how long we've been looking for you?!" Verity then scolded.

"Uh... Sorry." Ash said bashfully.

"What you did earlier was really not cool, Ash," Mal put her hands on her hips firmly as she added. "Besides, winning isn't everything."

"She's right," Sorrel added softly. "Do you honestly think you're going to win every battle? It's the times we lose that we truly see what a Trainer's made of, but that's just my opinion." he then advised.

Ash looked soft as he then brought out his new PokeBall. "Charmeleon... I'm sorry." he then said softly about what he did earlier and had said because he let Cross get to him.

"Yeah, man," LJ added. "Besides, consider this an opportunity to look at what you did wrong, and next time: do the opposite."

* * *

Later, the group was seated around a campfire.

"You forgot that Pokemon even existed?" asked Verity. "That had to have been the worst dream ever!"

"But you know... It's not impossible for Pokemon to leave us." Sorrel said as he finished stoking the flames.

"I'm not sure if I wanna think about that." Kimberly remarked.

"Me neither." Felicity replied as she sat comfortably with Misdreavus.

"You wanna tell us something?" Carlos added to Sorrel as he was petting Rockruff.

"When I was young, my parents were away for work more than home," Sorrel began to explain. "My family had a Luxray who took care of me. It was always with me."

* * *

_A memory was shown of a young Sorrel with his large, comfortable Pokemon who sat behind him as he read a book._

"But then, there was one awful day when I went out alone..." Sorrel then narrated.

_Young Sorrel was shown to be alone in the middle of a snowstorm as he tried to get out of the snow, but soon fell by a tree and began to shiver and freeze.Luxray soon found Sorrel and began to sit beside him and held him in comfort to keep him company and some warmth._

_"Luxray..." Young Sorrel smiled thankfully before he began to fall asleep with his Pokemon companion._

* * *

_Eventually, morning came as Young Sorrel began to wake up as the storm was over. He then looked over to see that Luxray seemed to get frozen to death overnight as it wasn't moving or breathing and didn't even open its eyes._

_"Luxray!" Young Sorrel soon cried out as some adults came to help him, but they couldn't save Luxray as he cried out for his Pokemon. "Luxray! LUXRAY!"_

* * *

"After that... I was afraid to make friends with Pokemon for a very long time." Sorrel then continued to his friends.

"And then you met Lucario?" Evie guessed.

"Yes... The time I met Lucario was the only thing that could snap me out of it." Sorrel nodded with a smile.

"No problem there, buddy." Lucario smiled warmly.

"Awesome..." Ash smiled, as Verity gently scratched Piplup's head for him.

Suddenly, there was creepy whispering, accompanied by those same red eyes. Pikachu tried to tackle it, but it sunk into the shadows and vanished.

"Okay, we all saw that, right?" asked Carlos.

"But what _was_ it?" asked Vincent.

"A Pokemon?" asked Verity.

"I'll get 'em!" Pikachu declared as he sent a ThunderShock through the treetops; this, unfortunately, woke up a horde of angry Primeape, who didn't appreciate being woken up.

"They're Primeape!" Sorrel explained as they were backed into a corner. "Once they get angry, there's no calming them down!"

"I dunno if I should try to catch one..." LJ muttered. "They seem a little too violent..."

"We shouldn't try to provoke them." Emi nodded at him.

The Primeape soon surrounded them.

"Go away!" Jay cried out.

"Go away! Go away! Go away!" Chatot parroted.

The Primeape soon grabbed the group and began to toss them up in the air like some sort if ritual.

"Stop it, I get sick very easily!" Felicity groaned as she held her stomach, feeling queasy already.

"What's going on?!" Ash cried out.

"Ash, we need Metapod!" Sorrel told the boy.

"But why?" Ash asked.

"If we try to fight back, they'll only get angrier!" Sorrel explained.

"Got it!" Ash nodded as he soon hopped from one of the Primeape's paws and made it to the ground before tossing his PokeBall to let out the requested Pokemon. "Metapod! Use String Shot!"

"Okay, here we go, nice and easy now!" Metapod said before it soon used its attack.

Ash then picked up Metapod and took the Pokemon around in a circle to begin to trap and tie up to Primeape to make them stop doing what they were doing.

"C'mon, Primeape, don't be so mad!" Verity remarked as she got off the Primeape pile and made a break for it.

"Metapod, you were awesome!" Ash told his Pokemon.

"Well, it was nothing, really..." Metapod replied as his shell began to crack open like an egg. 

Soon, in a glow of light, the cocoon split open, and out of it emerged a big, purple butterfly with a blue nose and bright-red eyes. "I am transformed...!" he declared.

"It evolved into a Butterfree!" Ash declared giddily.

"Way to go, Butterfree!" Emi beamed for her brother's Pokemon.

The Primeape soon broke free and began to chase after the group.

"Wuh-oh! They're back!" Jay called out.

"It's like a crime spree in our old neighborhood." Carlos smirked shyly.

"Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!" Ash soon commanded his newly evolved Pokemon.

"I'm on it!" Butterfree nodded before flying towards the Primeape group and began to fly around and around in a circle.

Some sort of magical powder came out before the Primeape began to look exhausted before they fell to the ground, fast asleep.

"Butterfree, you're the best!" Ash cheered as Butterfree flew right back.

"Totally!" Pikachu added.

"Ain't no thang." Butterfree beamed.

"Now's our chance!" Sorrel proclaimed and the group wasted no time in deciding to make a hasty exit before the Primeape woke up again.

* * *

However, as soon as they left, a certain team made it over to the scene.

"Well, lookee what we have here..." Meowth said to his teammates.

"A pack of primo Primeape!" Jessie remarked.

"And they're all blissfully asleep." James added.

"This is a gotta catch 'em all moment!" Meowth grinned.

Team Rocket began to laugh at that, but they, unfortunately, woke up the Primeape who soon grabbed them and began to bounce them a few times before flinging them right into the air, which of course led to... "We're blasting off yet again!"

Elsewhere, the group had come to a river.


	7. Chapter 7

"We'll handle this," Verity declared as she kissed her Pokeball. "Okay, Lapras, it's your turn!" She wound up and threw the ball out.

A large, blue-colored, sea Pokemon which looked like a dinosaur known as a plesiosaur soon came out and ended up in the water.

"Huh... Neat..." Emi smiled at the sight of the Pokemon.

Everybody else looked just as amazed at the sight of Lapras while Piplup looked happy to see the other Pokemon.

* * *

And so, everybody began to ride on the Pokemon's back with some Pokemon at the head to get a great view as Butterfree flew by.

"So beautiful." Emi smiled.

"You really are." Akito whispered.

"Hm?" Emi glanced at him.

"Uh, it is!" Akito grinned sheepishly. "Beautiful view... Beautiful day... It sure is amazing!"

LJ rolled his eyes at that and turned back frontwards to enjoy the rest of the trip downstream. Zofia leaned over a bit and began to cup some water in her hands before splashing it against her face a little with a small laugh.

"I gotta say, this is a pretty good experience," Creepie remarked. "Maybe after all of this, I will eventually get my own Pokemon."

"That might be good for you," Evie replied. "I know I'm having fun with Meowsic at my companion."

"You'll find your right Pokemon," Zofia told her friend. "Sooner than you think."

"I guess we'll see," Creepie replied. "My biggest concern so far is how my family would take it."

"Yeah, I guess that's a pretty good point." Zofia nodded at that as Creepie's family was unlike any other family, but that would be another bridge to cross at a later time.

After a while, they got out of the water and they soon went back to walking along to continue their extended journey away from home. The group smiled a bit as their Pokemon looked so happy and had a lot of fun together so far.

"Somebody!" A voice was heard screaming.

Everyone then looked to the trees as something looked wrong.

"Heeeelp!" A different Butterfree from Ash's cried out as he was being chased by some sort of bird Pokemon.

"That thing looks twice as nasty as a Spearow!" LJ remarked.

"That Butterfree is in trouble!" exclaimed Sorrel.

"Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed as he set Butterfree into combat.

"Comin' to the rescue!" he exclaimed as he bodyslammed into the monstrous bird Pokemon, before squaring off against it.

"Help!" The wild Butterfree cried out while flying away.

"You stay away from that Butterfree!" Ash's Butterfree glared at the bird Pokemon.

The wild Butterfree began to look scared for Ash's Butterfree.

"Butterfree, now use Gust, go!" Ash told his Butterfree.

"You got it!" Ash's Butterfree replied before using the power from his wings to make the bird Pokemon get away.

The bird Pokemon fell back from that before it decided to turn away and fly off from Ash's Butterfree.

"Awesome!" Ash beamed as he cheered with the others.

"Wow! That was amazing and so brave!" The wild Butterfree smiled at Ash's Butterfree.

"Aww... It was nuthin'." Ash's Butterfree replied bashfully.

"That Butterfree has different coloring..." Sorrel pointed out.

"It's really cute!" Verity gushed.

The two Butterfree flapped and darted around each other with glee.

"I think that Butterfree is a girl." Verity stated.

"Uh?" Ash asked. "...Yeah."

"That's right." Sorrel then nodded as Verity was correct.

The two Butterfrees flew off together as they seemed to become close. Akito and Emi seemed to smile from that with each other.

* * *

And so, the group kept on walking as they continued through the woods while the Butterfree got better acquainted with one another. Emi smiled fondly at that before Akito came to sit down next to her to hopefully get to know her better.

"There!" Sorrel pointed out as he brought out his map on his tablet. "The source of the rainbow: The Raizen Mountains!"

Everybody else looked excited at that news. Ash then took out the Rainbow Wing as it glowed in his vest pocket before it shot out a beam of bright light towards the highest mountain that they could see.

"That's the highest mountain in the range," Sorrel then told them. "Mount Tensei!"

"That must be our destination then." Kimberly remarked.

"Then that's where we'll go!" LJ declared.

"Then I'll meet Ho-Oh real soon!" Ash beamed.

"Me too! Me too!" Pikachu piped up.

"Pikachu. Let's go!" Ash then smiled at his Pokemon before running off with him.

"Ash?!" Verity called.

"Hey, wait up!" Emi added as they all went to catch up after Ash and Pikachu.

Team Rocket was now spying on the group from afar.

"You hear that?" Jessie smirked at her teammates.

"With stereo ears." James smirked back.

"We're Ho-Oh catchers!" Meowth remarked.

"Sneaky and snarky!" The three then proclaimed together.

* * *

As the day went on, the group was able to see the Butterfree mating ceremonies take place.

"Wow!" Verity exclaimed. "Look at all the Butterfree!" She was right; there were at least hundreds of them, maybe more.

"So cool!" Piplup added.

"Alright... Time for you to come on out!" Ash declared, sending out his Butterfree to flap throughout the crowd.

"Oh, how lovely." Ash's Butterfree smiled as he took a look around the others of his own kind.

"Hey, you're back~" The wild Butterfree beamed at him.

The two soon flew into each other as they seemed to become very good friends.

"Isn't that the one Butterfree rescued?" Verity asked.

"Sure is!" Ash smiled.

"This is the season when Butterfree gather in groups, and head south to their spawning grounds." Sorrel informed.

"Nice..." Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos whispered together.

"Look! Your Butterfree's joining in." Estelle told Ash.

The two Butterfree were indeed getting very close with each other like animals during mating season.

"That's their courtship dance." Sorrel told the others.

"In other words, the dance that's basically saying 'let's get it on'." LJ chuckled.

"I'd say that they both agree." Sorrel smiled.

"Good for you, Butterfree!" Ash beamed proudly.

"Speaking of which, have you guys asked those people you like to the upcoming dance?" Felicity smirked at Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

The four began to look bashful and sheepish from that as Murkrow, Meowsic, Chatot, and Rockruff quickly noticed.

"But, Ash, you know if they both fly off to the south, that means goodbye to Butterfree." Verity soon reminded Ash.

"Oh..." Ash said softly as he didn't think about that before he looked out to see the many Butterfree flying off together to share their traditions with each other. "But... That's... Not what I want to happen," he then said softly before getting very expressive. "I mean, Butterfree's one of my good friends! I don't want to say goodbye. NO WAY!"

"Oh, Ash." Emi frowned softly.

"Yeah... I hear you." Verity said, turning away.

"It's your decision," Sorrel told his friend. "What do you say?"

Ash stared down in quiet contemplation until he heard Butterfree talking to him.

"Ash? Ash!" The Pokemon called.

Ash soon looked up towards Butterfree curiously.

"Hey, Ash, what's up?" Ash's Butterfree greeted as he flew toward his trainer.

"Hi. So what do you think you wanna do?" Ash asked his flying Pokemon.

"Well... I love this Butterfree... And I should be with the others..." Ash's Butterfree began softly as he looked to and from Ash and the female Butterfree who seemed to be his girlfriend.

"Do you really wanna go with the rest of the Butterfree and say goodbye to all of us?" Ash asked.

"Well... I'd love to..." Ash's Butterfree began before he soon came to go behind his trainer and Emi. "But I don't wanna leave you guys, so I'll stay here if you want me to." he then decided.

Ash sighed. He knew that making Butterfree stay for his sake wouldn't be right, even if he didn't want him to leave. This could be the single chance his Butterfree got at love, and he'd have to seize the opportunity before it flew out of his life for good. "You should go with your friend!" Ash soon decided.

"Ash, are you sure?" Emi asked her brother.

"Yes, I think it's the right thing to do," Ash nodded before calling out. "Hurry up! If you don't go now, you'll both get left behind!"

Ash's Butterfree soon flew towards the wild Butterfree he had befriended.

"You're both really great Butterfree, so take care of each other!" Ash smiled at the Butterfree.

"Oh... Thank you, Ash..." Ash's Butterfree replied tearfully. "I'll miss you all so much. Even you, Pikachu."

"Go have fun, Butterfree!" Pikachu called out.

"Live your best life, buddy," LJ nodded. "Do what brings you joy."

The Pokemon all began to look sad as it looked as though Ash's Butterfree decided to go with his own kind.

"Thank you for seeing how much he means to me." The wild Butterfree told the humans.

"You're welcome," Emi smiled tearfully. "Now go have a nice life together."

The two Butterfree soon joined together and began to go with the rest of their own kind. Jay sniffled a bit.

"Dude, are you crying?" Carlos asked.

"What? No!" Jay glared through his tears. "You're crying!"

"Oh, come off that macho tough guy act," LJ scoffed. "Cryin' don't make ya less of a man, it shows you have actual emotions."

"That's not what my dad says." Jay muttered.

"Nuts to your dad!" Felicity replied as she stormed toward him. "My father is your father now! My uncle is your father!"

"Gah!" Jay flinched as Felicity looked intense all of a sudden.

"Look, I know you wanna be a macho tough guy, but cut it out!" Felicity told him. "I respect Carlos for not being afraid to show his true emotions, and I'm sure he'll win a girlfriend easily that way! Especially the headmistress's daughter!"

"Who told you about Jane?!" Carlos blushed. "I mean, uh, yeah!" he then added bashfully as he looked shy about his crush at school.

"Besides, if you don't show that you have emotions other than this lame tough-guy shtick, people will think you're some callous jerk who doesn't care about anybody," LJ added. "Funny how I, a 10-year-old, knows more about that than a teenager."

"Butterfree! Take care of yourself!" Ash shouted, his eyes wet with tears.

"I will!" Butterfree replied, his eyes also teary as he flew off with his mate.

Jay looked bashful from what LJ said. Emi wiped her eyes a bit before she put her hands down, then felt someone touching her hand before she looked down to see that Akito touched her hand and held it. Akito smiled at her fondly while Emi smiled back softly.

"Goodbye, Butterfree!" Pikachu called out tearfully.

Everybody waved goodbye as most of the group had tears in her eyes.

* * *

The group waved until the Butterfree were no longer in sight.

"They're gone..." said Verity.

"Yeah..." Ash said solemnly. "But you know... I'm glad I met Butterfree. Sure, it's not here anymore, but we'll always be good friends."

"For sure!" Pikachu agreed.

"I'm proud of you, Ash," Emi smiled softly. "That was very mature of you."

"Thanks, Emi." Ash smiled back as he wiped his eyes.

"One thing's for sure," Sorrel spoke up, giving them some advice. "Trainers raise Pokemon, but Pokemon live their own lives."

The others nodded at that as it sounded like good advice. Suddenly, Pikachu seemed to get staticky as something strange was happening. The others soon looked over as they saw that they were given some sort of company.

"What the-?!" Evie gasped as she held onto Meowsic protectively.

"It's Raikou!" Sorrel told the others.

"Here? But why?" asked LJ.

Raikou threw back its head and let out a ferocious roar as thunder rumbled through the sky and lightning crackled. The group covered their eyes as they were briefly blinded, but when they looked over again, Raikou was gone.

"That. Was mega weird." Mal remarked.

"What was that all about?" Kimberly asked.

"I dunno, but I'm not gonna find out." Akito said as he held his egg.

Akito's Pokemon egg seemed to hop, trying to get out of its container as it glowed.

"Kito... I think your egg is... Hatching..." Estelle said to her twin brother.

"Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh." Akito babbled to himself nervously.

"Calm down," Vincent told him. "You'll be fine."

"Help me out a little?" Akito asked his older brother.

"Sure, just relax and stay calm," Vincent smiled, putting his hands on his younger brother's shoulders. "Just breathe and relax."

Akito breathed in and out calmly and carefully. The egg continued to shake a bit as it glowed even more and some cracks were shown.

"Here it comes!" Carlos gasped.

* * *

Eventually, a bright light shot out and soon, a small, green, reptilian Pokemon soon came out as it was born and hatched. "Papa..." it then spoke, sounding like a young boy.

"I'm a daddy!" Akito cried emotionally before hugging Vincent. "I'm a dad..."

"Congratulations." Vincent chuckled as he hugged Akito back.

"And you didn't even have to get married," LJ chuckled. "Even though you're considered a legal adult once you become a Pokémon Trainer."

"Heh, yeah, I guess that's true." Akito replied bashfully.

"Congratulations, Akito," Emi smiled at the boy. "I know that you'll be a great Pokemon trainer for Larvitar."

"I hope so, Emi," Akito smiled back as Larvitar suddenly hugged him. "Oof! Heh... Guess he's already a Papa's Boy."

"He's taken a liking to you," Zofia beamed. "And in record time too!"

"Well, newly hatched Pokemon tend to latch onto the first person they see as their parents," Sorrel smiled. "Congratulations, Akito."

"Thanks, guys." Akito beamed as he hugged his Larvitar back.

Estelle pouted a bit as her Teddiursa still didn't hatch.

"Don't worry," Emi told Estelle. "I'm sure your Teddiursa will come out soon."

"I sure hope so." Estelle smiled softly.

"And that goes ditto for you," LJ told Kimberly. "Maybe in a week."

Kimberly giggled. "I can't wait. Even if it's not a unicorn." she then said.

They soon walked off together, ending up in a dark and foggy area that was a bit spooky, but luckily, they all had each other's company.

"You ever feel like you're being watched?" Felicity asked.

"I feel that way at home all the time." Creepie murmured to herself.

"Same." Sandra agreed from that.

"Looks like something's upset the wild Pokemon..." Verity murmured as a Golbat swooped overhead.

"It's Ho-Oh!" replied a voice, making the group turn. "All of them gather here to see Ho-Oh!"

On a nearby rock, was a short, bearded elderly man wearing a Pokemon Trainer cap.

* * *

"All these wild Pokemon come here so they can receive power from Ho-Oh," explained the old man as he stood up and jumped down to the ground, then began sniffing the air. "It's faint, but I'm catching a whiff of Ho-Oh...!"

"This guy sure likes his Ho-Ohs." Jay muttered to himself.

"Hey, could it be this?" Ash asked as he brought out a certain feather from his vest pocket.

"WOW!" The old man gushed. "It's the Rainbow Wing!"

"You know of it?" Zofia asked.

"Hey! I know you!" Sorrel spoke up. "You wrote the book! What was your name?"

"Why don't you just call me Bonji?" The old man suggested. "For the past 20 years, I've been on a quest, searching for Ho-Oh as part of my research."

"20 years?" The group repeated in surprise.

"Yes," Bonji nodded at that. "You see, I've pulled data from many places, which led me to this mountain for Ho-Oh's next appearance."

"Then let's all go together!" Emi suggested.

"Yeah, we're on our way to see Ho-Oh as well." Ash added.

"Yeah!" Pikachu beamed.

"All right. That shine is the shine of youth," Bonji replied gratefully. "How I missed it. It's almost too beautiful for me to look upon."

And at that, they soon walked off together with their newest friend.

"It's probably in large part to the Rainbow Wing you were able to encounter Entei, Suicune, and Raikou." Bonji explained as they kept on trekking.

"You mean me?" asked Ash.

"That means you may have someone guiding you," Bonji told him. "A guide from the shadows."

"I wouldn't rule out that possibility." LJ shrugged.

"Have you noticed anything?" Bonji asked Ash.

"I might've noticed something." Creepie muttered to herself.

"From the shadows? Wait, yeah, there was something..." Ash replied before he looked down to his own shadow to look out for anything as Pikachu got defensive and even looked for himself. "I wonder if it's still there...?"

"I suspect it's an extremely rare Pokemon: Marshadow." Bonji educated.

"Marshadow?" Akito and Estelle asked in unison.

"Yes. They say it's a guide from the shadows," Bonji nodded. "When a color of the rainbow fades, Marshadow seals it back up and makes it right."

"That must've been the creature which pursued us..." LJ muttered.

Ash looked down to his vest as the Rainbow Wing glowed yet again.

"There's the summit..." Verity remarked.

"The Rainbow Wing!" Sorrel called out.

Ash soon brought out the feather to put it to good use.

"When a rainbow flower blooms upon Rainbow Rock, Ho-Oh shall appear." Bonji educated.

A bright light shot from the feather before going high up to the summit and shined brightly on what looked like crystals in the middle of the ground.

"Well, I can't just stand here waiting!" Ash grinned before he soon ran off with Pikachu. "Let's go, buddy!"

The others went to go after Ash as he ran off ahead of them.

"Hey, wait for me!" Verity called out as she ran off with Piplup.

"I guess it's a good thing that this Ash kid is pretty excitable," Ichabod grinned. "Something tells me we'll get along just nicely!"

Bonji chuckled. "Time flies and rainbows quickly vanish... Yes, young ones, hurry!" he called to them, running behind.

* * *

As he followed behind, Meowth popped up. "Hm... Hey, the 'young ones' hafta hurry!" he told Jessie and James.

Jessie grunted as she pulled herself up the side of the mountain. "I'm not feeling all that young..." she groaned.

"Hurrying is for the harried..." James added as he climbed behind her... Then their stomachs gurgled.

"And all on an empty stomach..." They all moaned.

* * *

The group soon kept on running down the path with other Pokemon watching their every move.

"Huh?" Ash blinked as they saw the crystals from a far distance as they came to a sudden stop.

"That's where you should place the rainbow wing." Sorrel advised.

"I'll do it!" Ash then proclaimed.

"I'll help!" Pikachu added.

And at that, the two ran towards the crystal pile to put the Rainbow Wing in place, only for a certain Pokemon to come out and made them fall back to the others.

"It's Incineroar!" Akito glared firmly. "That means that Cross isn't too far behind then!"

"Maybe you're _not_ as dumb as you look..." Cross smirked as he came out with Lycanwolfe. "Now... I'll be taking that. The trainer who battles Ho-Oh is the strongest, and that trainer is _me_!"

"That's not how it works!" Sorrel retorted.

"Look, the one who gets to battle Ho-Oh is the chosen one," Verity added. "The Rainbow Hero!"

"You're too soft; might makes right!" Cross scoffed. "And that's all that matters."

"And what about the weak?" asked Ash.

"They're just trash!" Cross replied.

"And those who lose?" asked Emi.

" _Worse_ than trash!" Cross spat.

"Ya know... I think we've had just about enough of you," LJ snapped. "All your 'strength-is-the-only-thing-that-matters' gobbledygook sickens me! You didn't get the Rainbow Wing because you're not worthy. And the only trash I see here is you, so go find a can and jump in it!"

"You should know not to talk to those bigger and stronger and older than you like that." Cross sneered.

"Leave our brother alone!" Zofia glared.

"Yeah, all you do is talk down those who aren't yourself or who you view is high and mighty!" Felicity added. "You know what I think? I think you are just a fool with no one to blame but yourself over petty problems! Why don't you just get a life?!"

"There's no way I can afford to let you win this!" Ash declared.

As he did, the Rainbow Wing shone even brighter, causing Marshadow to emerge from hiding at last, much to everyone's surprise.

* * *

"You're Marshadow!" Ash exclaimed.

"The Pokémon we saw that night!" Sorrel added.

"Marshadow is so cute~" Verity gushed.

"That's the guide from the shadows?" asked Cross. "Wow..."

Marshadow quickly jumped to a higher precipice.

"Marshadow's only purpose is to observe the proceedings." Bonji explained as he arrived.

"Oh, there you are, Bonji." Vincent said to the old man.

Creepie, Mal, and Felicity found Marshadow cute as well in a very creepy and spooky kind of way.

"Charmeleon, I choose you!" Ash glared as he put away the Rainbow Wing before tossing out his PokeBall.

"Hello, traitor." Charmeleon growled once he came out.

"Use Flamethrower!" Cross told his bigger and stronger Pokemon.

Incineroar took a deep breath and breathed out flames towards Charmeleon.

"Charge, Charmeleon!" Ash commanded.

Charmeleon then luckily got out of the way of the flames as he began to charge.

"Charmeleon, now use Slash!" Ash then commanded.

Charmeleon then growled heavily before he jumped towards Incineroar and cut at the bigger Pokemon.

"Good going, Ash." Emi complimented her brother.

"Perfect!" Verity and Piplup cheered at that.

"Throat Chop, go!" Cross ordered.

Incineroar got ready to do just that, but Charmeleon leapt out of the way every single time.

"Use Slash again!" Ash commanded.

Charmeleon nodded, and lunged at Incineroar, the both of them clashing together.

"Use Flamethrower!" Cross ordered, and a stream of flames shot at Charmeleon, who was caught dead-on in its path.

Charmeleon strained to make his way through the flames, but his tail flame began to blaze even brighter, and his body began to glow bright blue as he evolved one more time...

* * *

"No way..." Emi gasped to herself.

"Well, it looks like I was right about that dragon thing?" Akito smiled bashfully at her.

"Yes, I see what you mean." Emi smiled back as she was quite happy for the Fire Pokemon.

Charmeleon grew bigger and wider and even had a pair of wings this time as he let out a victorious roar before shooting out some new fire out of his mouth.

"You evolved into a Charizard!" Ash beamed at the Pokemon.

"Awesome, Charizard!" Pikachu cheered.

"Go, Charizard!" The others began to cheer.

"Aw, who cares?" Cross scoffed. "Even when weak Pokemon evolve, they're still weak!"

"Ugh! Does nothing impress you?" Mal complained.

"Oh, sure, maybe a sweet thing like you." Cross smirked.

"...Excuse me?" Mal muttered from that.

"Now use Throat Chop!" Cross soon told his Pokemon.

"Charizard, use Slash!" Ash then told his Pokemon in return.

Charizard let out a roar as he swooped in and blocked each of Incineroar's punches with ease, before knocking it back.

"Use Flamethrower!" Cross ordered, and Incineroar did just that, but Charizard avoided it by flying on the walls.

"Now, use Dragon Rage!" Ash commanded.

Charizard hocked up a purple fireball that hit Incineroar dead-on, stunning it briefly as he landed on the ground.

"Charizard, we gotta wrap this up quickly," Ash told his Pokemon. "Build up your power; let's end this one with a big attack!"

"Right!" Charizard growled in response.

Emi felt a little scared for Charizard, but Akito took that time to shine as he tried to comfort the girl he really seemed to like.

"All right, Fire Fang!" Cross soon commanded.

"Take this, you lizard breath!" Incineroar growled as he charged towards Charizard with flames in its mouth.

"Dodge it, quick!" Ash told his Pokemon.

Charizard charged towards Charizard, but luckily dodged away just in time and flew back into the sky before coming right back, flying right past Cross as the others began to smirk at the redheaded boy.

"Grab and drag it down!" Cross told his Pokemon.

"Now you're gonna get it!" Incineroar glared as he soon grabbed a hold of Charizard while in mid-flight.

"Use Seismic Toss!" Ash commanded.

"But not today!" Charizard retorted to Incineroar and began to grab the cat-like Pokemon before spinning him through the air and then slamming him hard down on the ground with a big crash.

"Incineroar, use Flamethrower!" ordered Cross.

Incineroar launched a fire stream from its belt.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

Charizard let out his own stream of flames, and both streams clashed.

"Go...!" Ash shouted, and Charizard's flame stream got a massive power-boost, which engulfed Incineroar's flame stream and caught it in a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Incineroar was flat on its back. It tried to get up...but collapsed again.

Cross was mortified.

"Now... What was that you said about people who lose being trash?" LJ asked smugly.

"Ah, yes, I believe it was a pretty interesting story." Mal smirked.

Everybody else began to cheer for Ash's victory.

"Way to go, Charizard!" Ash smiled proudly.

Cross groaned in defeat as he soon returned Incineroar back into his PokeBall as he hung his head. Ash soon decided to walk past Cross with the Rainbow Wing at hand as Pikachu walked by his side. The other Pokemon in the area began to watch in suspense of what would happen between Ash and Cross next.

"Ho-Oh... I saw Ho-Oh, too!" Cross suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?" The others asked as they looked at him.

"But it didn't gift me with the Rainbow Wing!" Cross then continued as he stood up sharply with a heavy glare right at Ash. "And here I did everything I could to become the strongest Trainer of all! Why must it be you?!" he then asked while fuming. "If Ho-Oh doesn't consider me the strongest, I'll just crush Ho-Oh!"

"That's just cold!" Sandra glared.

"Because clearly Ho-Oh didn't think you're worthy, are you deaf or stupid?" LJ asked. "All you care about is being strong! Face it, you lost, jerk! Cut your losses and go home!"

"Shut up!" Cross glared.

"Why don't you _make_ him?" Mal glared back. "I don't see _you_ doing anything!"

"You shouldn't talk back to me," Cross told her. "It might end badly for you."

"Well, go ahead and try to stop me!" Mal huffed. "I survived my dragon of a mother, I ain't afraid of some hotheaded hotshot!"

"Besides, he kicked your butt, and we outnumber you." Akito added.

"Cross, I wanna get stronger, too, you know," Ash said to the redheaded boy. "But still, I only got this far with the help of my friends! So I know it's not only about strength!"

"Then what do you even battle for?!" Cross glared sharply.

"I do it... Because I wanna make friends!" Ash told him. "Not just with Ho-Oh! I wanna make friends with all kinds of Pokemon! That's why I battle!"

"Yeah!" Pikachu beamed.

"I wanna make friends with the Pokemon too," Emi smiled. "I feel so close and comfortable with them and they all seem to like me."

Cross couldn't believe this and he didn't buy it at all. "Shut UP! SHUT UP WITH ALL THAT STUPID FRIENDSHIP CRAP!" he shouted, lunging at Ash. "This isn't some show for little kids, **THIS IS REAL LIFE!** "

"...I dunno why, but I feel like I should be insulted somehow..." LJ noted.

Cross angrily tried to wrestle the Rainbow Wing from Ash's grasp, before he just shoved him down and stole it before running towards the rock.

"Ash!" Emi gasped for her brother.

Lycanroc soon went after Cross to protect him from anyone who would come out for him, such as Jay who tried to lunge out for Cross then, but the Pokemon blocked him.

"Not good!" Bonji told the others as they came to stop Cross and help Ash.

"Now come to me, Ho-Oh!" Cross called out as he placed the Rainbow Wing on the rock.

The feather soon glowed and began to float as the rock shot out some very colorful energy.

"I don't like the looks of this." Evie frowned softly.

But instead of a rainbow color, the energy was a dark/purple color, and soon dark clouds began to swirl overhead, with the energy turning the light streams from blue to dark purple.

"You see, the Rainbow Wing loses its color..." explained Bonji. "...When touched by one with an evil heart."

"Blast it, Cross, you fool!" LJ scowled. "You just couldn't accept that you were unworthy! Now your blackened heart has corrupted the Rainbow Wing and doomed us all!"

"YOU FOOL!" Murkrow cried out dramatically from Mal's shoulder. "YOU'VE MESSED WITH THE NATURAL ORDER!"

Cross looked around in horror before a pair of dark hands grabbed a hold of him and soon threw him aside.

Lycanroc soon jumped up and grabbed Cross to keep him from getting hurt and gently set him down on the ground.

"Marshadow seals it back up, and makes it right." Bonji then educated as the dark Pokemon soon went to do as the old man said it would.

Marshadow seemed to wave at Creepie who just looked around before shrugging and waving back. Gengar and Scraggy stood in front of Sandra and Ichabod protectively.

"I'll pound you down, too!" Cross glared at Marshadow. "Lycanroc, use Crush Claw!"

Lycanroc turned to face Cross, its eyes now glowing an evil purple. Its claws glowed before it leapt towards him and almost smashed him to bits before he leapt away.

"Marshadow is controlling Lycanroc..." Bonji explained. "It wants to tear people and Pokemon apart!"

"That seems very contradictory of what you just said..." LJ replied. "But hey, he made his bed, so he oughta lie in it."

"LJ's right," Mal added. "It would serve him right."

"Hmm..." Felicity paused thoughtfully from that.

Lycanroc was about to send a blast at Cross to finish him off... Only for Charizard to swoop in and take the hit.

"You just..." Cross muttered and blinked at Charizard's bravery and sacrifice.

"Don't you see?!" Verity called out to Cross. "That means it never forgot you were once its Trainer!"

"That's just like Charizard to be awesome!" Ash remarked.

"Yeah! Awesome!" Pikachu added.

"Even though you've done nothing to deserve its kindness," LJ spoke up. "All you did was reject and belittle it, regardless of what it did. **AND NOW, YOUR ARROGANCE HAS SEALED OUR FATES, AS WELL AS YOUR OWN!** "

Cross looked amazed at Charizard who just turned away from him with a low growl. Marshadow soon sent out its magic to shoot out at the other Pokemon to control them as well as it did with Lycanroc.

"This is bad." Akito gulped.

"Very bad." Estelle added.

"RUN!" Emi soon cried out.

"Great idea!" Ichabod replied as he and the others made a break for it.

Electabuzz fired off a stream of electricity as the kids ran, only for them to run into a horde of Pidgey and Pidgeot, but Lucario blocked the Pidgeot.

"Pikachu, go for Thunderbolt!" Ash told him.

"Peck _this_!" Pikachu shouted, trying to blast the Pidgey, but they just swooped out of the way.

Just then, Nidoking and Nidoqueen both landed on the ground and started charging up Hyper Beams with several other Pokemon.

"Looks like Marshadow wants to control all of you as well..." Bonji murmured.

"No way!" Kimberly exclaimed.

"Ho-Oh will never appear now that it's come to this!" Bonji told the others.

"I wouldn't blame it!" Emi replied.

The Pokemon all began to attack as they all ran to avoid the attacks and Marshadow's control. There was a big boom that made them all crash and end up in a new plain, luckily away from Marshadow and the corrupt Pokemon.

"Ugh... Are we all okay?" Estelle groaned slightly.

"I think so." Bonji replied.

"Not for long though... Look!" Carlos pointed out in horror as the corrupt Pokemon soon came towards them after finding them.

"Young man, you have got to get the Rainbow Wing back," Bonji told Ash urgently. "Marshadow is getting its power from the Rainbow Wing! And there's only person who can get it back. That is you! You're the only hope since there is no Pokemon Princess here."

"Pokemon Princess..." Mal muttered to herself.

"Okay, this is the first time you've mentioned that," LJ replied. "SO WHAT THE HECK _IS_ A POKEMON PRINCESS?!"

Zofia patted LJ on the back to calm him down a little.

"Please, allow me," Bonji said to LJ before telling them all about the Pokemon Princess. "The Pokemon Princess is a princess, who is not only a Pokemon Trainer, but she also heals them like a nurse in a Pokemon Center. She can also act as a translator/whisperer for those who don't understand Pokemon and she can occasionally battle with patients for their Pokemon and attend meetings such as hatchings of new Pokemon or helping new trainers of how to care for their Pokemon. Also, as she learns and grows more, she is also able to have special powers linked to the Pokemon, such as flying or even more. I haven't met one, so I believe she may be a myth, but maybe she might be closer than I think." he then said.

"Well, since we haven't got that kinda time, looks like Ash needs to get the Wing back," LJ decided. "Don't freak out, we'll watch your back and keep your path clear."

Emi looked the most curious about the Pokemon Princess, but didn't say anything.

"Right." The others agreed with LJ.

"We got your back, We got your back, We got your back~" Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos told Ash.

"They're so loyal." Felicity smiled proudly.

"We'll do whatever we can to help!" Sorrel decided.

"All right!" Verity nodded firmly.

"This way!" Bonji told the others before he led the way.

"Follow that guy!" Akito proclaimed bravely.

And so, the group followed, with the corrupted Pokemon in pursuit.


	8. Chapter 8

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash told his friend.

Charizard came down and shot another flame that was hit by Magmar, who was blown back by the impact. As the group continued, a Pidgeot attacked them.

"Use Hydro Pump!" Verity and LJ told their Pokemon.

Piplup and Fishy Joe did just that, blasting the Pidgeot out of the sky. But an Arbok jumped out of the smoke; luckily Charizard blocked its assault and sent it right back to the ground, as Ash and Pikachu continued their venture. 

"Incoming Rhino Pokemon!" Mal warned.

"That's a Rhyhorn." Carlos told her.

"Whatever!" Mal replied.

"Ash, look out!" Kimberly soon cried out.

A Graveler soon jumped out and looked big and strong until Lucario jumped in to stop it, along with Scraggy and Gengar. Misdreavus then Phantom Forced the Rhyhorn away as it came back as Lucario got rid of Graveler with Scraggy and Gengar.

"Nice Phantom Force!" Felicity smiled at her Pokemon.

"I just love that move." Midreavus smiled back.

Just then, a Graveler leapt out and tried to bowl Ash and Pikachu over, but Lucario used its bone-lance to block it. The Rhyhorn came back, but Piplup shot Bubblebeam at it again.

"Toldja, we have your back!" LJ declared. "Now go on and finish this!"

"We know you can do it!" Zofia added.

Lycanroc soon came out next.

"No, don't!" Cross soon called out as he tackled and stopped his Pokemon.

"Huh. That's some development." Mal remarked.

"Cross!" Ash gasped out.

"I've gotta do this, go!" Cross told Ash as he tried to hold down his Pokemon who then bit him on the hand.

"Ya bit me the day we met, too... Remember?" Cross asked Lycanroc, who was still biting. "C'mon, Lycanroc... REMEMBER!"

Lycanroc began to twitch in pain, but soon the dark energy left its body, and its eyes were back to their former red coloration.

"...What just happened?" Carlos asked.

"I'd say that Lycanroc is back to normal." Estelle replied.

Cross looked at Lycanroc as his Pokemon looked back before licking his face. "Lycanroc." The redheaded boy smiled happily at his Pokemon.

Ash and Pikachu soon made it up to the other Pokemon who was responsible for all of this mess.

"Marshadow!" Ash glared at the dark Pokemon. "Give me the Rainbow Wing."

"Yeah, or else!" Pikachu added.

"Sure... Right after I give you this!" Marshadow replied darkly before shooting an attack right at them.

"Hit it right back with Iron Tail!" Ash told Pikachu, who gladly obliged as he charged forward.

Marshadow roared as it shot two more dark-energy balls at Ash and Pikachu, but Pikachu just dodged the first and knocked the second one back, but Marshadow just kicked it.

"Keep it up!" Ash shouted.

Finally, Pikachu and Marshadow were face-to-face, and they were blocking each other's attacks, matching each other pound for pound, before Pikachu was knocked backwards.

"Lucario!" Sorrel soon cried out as he was with the others and his Pokemon had fallen from facing the other Pokemon.

The adventure group's Pokemon stayed close by their trainers' sides so they wouldn't be affected from Marshadow like they were.

"This is bad," Kimberly frowned. "This is very, very bad."

"Let's try to stay optimistic so we don't have to fear losing." Zofia told her.

"I don't know how to stay positive in this sort of situation!" Kimberly still panicked.

"It's okay to not be positive all the time," LJ told her. "But sometimes, you need to have faith in your friends. It may not be much, but sometimes it's the best we've got."

"I just feel so scared!" Kimberly cried out. "I'm not sure if I can take it!"

"Well, I believe in you!" LJ declared. "And no matter what, I'm gonna stick by you until the end!"

Kimberly bit her lip. Zofia took Kimberly's hand and tried to soothe the girl with a small smile. Two Pokemon soon brought out what looked like fireballs and tossed them in the air which made rocks rumble and fall towards Cross and Lycanroc.

"Head's up! Rock Shower!" Jay warned as he and the others ran out of the way.

Arbok soon jumped out and tightened around Charizard's neck with its coils.

Fishy Joe began firing blasts of water to bombard Arbok as Pikachu was knocked back by Marshadow's assault.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Fortunately, Pikachu got to his feet. "I'm fine, and ready to rumble some more!" he declared.

"Oh, good for him." Midreavus smiled.

"Yeah!" Larvitar added.

"You want more, huh? Well, I'll give ya more!" Marshadow glared.

"Let's go, buddy!" Ash smiled at Pikachu.

"Take _this_!" Pikachu yelled out as he shot out an extreme Thunderbolt against Marshadow.

"Pfft! That ain't nuthin' compared to what I'm about to do to you!" Marshadow huffed before he had a big energy attack that took a lot of power and energy that seemed unfaceable towards any other Pokemon against it. "Take some of this! I'm gonna turn you into Pokemash!"

"Dodge it!!" Ash shouted.

Soon, Pikachu darted about, avoiding the attacks one by one, but he got bombarded by the aura spheres.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash told him.

Pikachu's cheeks crackled with energy, as he fired a lightning blast at Marshadow, who leapt up to kick him.

"You're DEAD!" Marshadow growled as he gave himself a shield while shooting more energy back at Pikachu.

Everybody began to watch in suspense... Even the Pokemon who were fighting each other in the meantime.

Pikachu began to look like he was suffering from Marshadow's attack as Ash kept an eye on his Pokemon. "No..." he said slowly and softly before he then got kicked in the face by the other Pokemon.

The impact was so strong that even Ash was blown back and the others ducked for cover as even they felt that.

"Pikachu!" Emi cried before she soon hugged Akito and feared the worst.

Akito blushed from the hug, but he hugged Emi back and began to comfort her the best way that he could.

* * *

Ash managed to crawl over to Pikachu and get out his Pokeball again, as the corrupted Pokemon approached. "Pikachu... Get inside..." he told him, rolling the ball over. "...Please, I know you hate... Being in there... But it's the only... Way you'll be... Safe..."

The corrupt Pokemon soon surrounded Ash as they got ready to attack him with whatever they had.

"Now you look, I don't think you know who you're dealing with!" Ash glared at the corrupt Pokemon as he turned his cap around and protected Pikachu. "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town! And I'm gonna be the world's greatest Pokemon Master! Mess with me and you're gonna lose!"

Of course, the corrupt Pokemon didn't feel threatened by that and soon attacked him all at once with all of their combined power. Pikachu soon found some will to get himself up and soon began to climb up and jump against Ash, but was too weak to protect him. Ash panicked for Pikachu and soon held onto him as the blasts shot out towards the two. Emi began to cry as Akito held onto her, trying to comfort her the best way that he could while everyone else also worried for Ash and Pikachu. Suddenly, Pikachu and Ash fell off the ledge they stood on and ended up falling hard on the ground, though still holding onto each other.

"Ash... You're okay..." Pikachu said weakly as he looked at his trainer.

Ash coughed. "Why won't you get in your ball...?" he asked.

"It's because... Because I always want to be with you..." Pikachu replied.

The Pokemon began charging their energy to fire their attacks all at once, as Ash tapped Pikachu with the Pokeball to get him back inside. The Pokemon all fired their blasts, as Ash cradled the ball in his arms, and was hit by the full brunt of the blast. Everyone else soon rushed over in attendance to see if they could find Ash or Pikachu. It seemed that all that was left was the PokeBall and Ash's hat before Pikachu soon came back out of the ball with Ash's hat on his head.

* * *

"Whoa... What happened?" Pikachu muttered before he looked over to see Ash on the ground before him as he seemed to be glowing. "Ash...?" he then asked softly.

The other Pokemon just stood there, especially Marshadow who looked quite stoic.

"Ash, here's your hat..." Pikachu said, a bit sadly as he put the hat on where Ash's aura was.

It seemed that Ash was now gone, including the Rainbow Wing that Marshadow once had in his hand.

"Oh, crap..." Jay gulped.

"You did this... _YOU_ DID THIS!" Emi shouted at Marshadow, her eyes flooded with tears. "YOU... YOU KILLED MY BIG BROTHER!"

"Uh... I..." Marshadow stammered.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Emi shouted. "I HOPE YOU'RE PROUD OF YOURSELF!"

Some sort of energy began to surge through Emi's body as Pikachu felt just as devastated.

"Ash...." Pikachu sobbed as he cradled his hat. "ASH...!" he screamed as he sent out a massive Hypershock blast that washed over everyone.

Emi began to cry emotionally with Pikachu as she fell to her knees. Pikachu and Emi's power both seemed to wipe away the black cloudy storm. Luckily, no one seemed to be hurt or killed from the Hypershock before Marshadow looked a bit weak from the impact.

Emi and Pikachu were seen hugging each other with tears in their eyes as they both cried for the same person. "ASH!"

"Oh, Emi." Akito frowned as he felt so sad for the girl that he liked.

* * *

Elsewhere, on another plane of existence, Ash regained consciousness. "Pikachu? Emi? Guys?" he asked, glancing around. "...Where are you?"

Emi and Pikachu were seen to be holding and hugging each other as they cried for Ash before they both looked up softly. "...Ash?" they then asked weakly.

Ash gasped as he heard his name being called before he turned around and stepped out slightly as there was a bright glow.

Suddenly, there was a field shown with summer colors such as red, yellow, and orange like there was an eternal sunset.

Ash and Emi saw some sparkles flying around as they sat together, though still had tears in their eyes.

"Ash... Is that you?" Emi asked softly as she sat with Pikachu.

"Pikachu? Emi?" Ash soon called before he ran across the field as it turned into a bright grassy green color.

The sparkles glowed brighter for Emi and Pikachu as they were being amazed right now. Suddenly, for Ash, it looked like that Emi and Pikachu were running beside him, flashing back and forth.

"We used to run like this all the time!" Ash smiled at that.

"Ash..." Pikachu and Emi smiled softly as the sparkles got brighter and brighter.

* * *

Golden flowers soon appeared in the green field as Ash continued to run as he looked so happy before the sky became a bright blue color and he soon seemed to be running on water. The sparkles got brighter and more colorful as the others rushed over to Emi and Pikachu as a miracle was about to happen. Pikachu soon dropped Ash's cap as it seemed that Ash was coming closer and closer back into the plain of life.

"ASH!" Emi and Pikachu beamed from the sparkles and soon jumped into the sparkles.

"Emi!" Akito cried out.

"Ash!" Verity beamed.

"You're alright!" Sorrel smiled.

"Glad to see you're okay," LJ replied. "See? I toldja it was gonna turn out okay."

"I'm glad for that too, especially for Emi." Akito said softly.

"Verity! Sorrel! Everybody else!" Ash smiled happily.

"Don't forget about me!" Charizard let out a happy roar.

Ash and Pikachu smiled at each other as Emi soon ran over to join on the hug which made them all laugh. Ash then blinked as he looked at his hand as the Rainbow Wing seemed to be coming back into his hand. The crystal rock soon came back which seemed to make Marshadow go back down through the ground as a glow cast around the corrupted Pokemon.

"When a rainbow flower blooms upon Rainbow Rock, Ho-Oh shall appear." Bonji advised Ash.

Ash stared in wonder.

"Yes... Now go, young man!" Bonji advised Ash, and the boy gladly obliged, racing towards the crystal rock and climbing to the top before putting the Rainbow Wing at the tip.

Suddenly, a rainbow light shot out and arched through the sky, acting as a beacon. And Ho-Oh itself saw the beacon on its way to the mountain. Everyone was amazed to see the wondrous bird Pokemon.

"The one who is guided by the Rainbow Wing may meet Ho-Oh and become the Rainbow Hero." Bonji informed Ash.

Ash and Pikachu gasped together happily.

"Way to go, Ash." Emi smiled tearfully for her big brother.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, on another mountain..._ **

"Ho?" James asked.

"Oh!" Jessie added.

"Yo, ho, Ho-Oh HO!" Meowth proclaimed as he hopped off the mountain side.

The three then gasped and they suddenly fell off the mountain. "It's all downhill from here!" they all then cried out.


	9. Chapter 9

Ho-Oh soon flew from the rainbow stream and flew right past Ash, Emi, and Pikachu before bringing down some magic onto the corrupt Pokemon. The magic managed to revitalize and purify them all.

"Looks like everybody's healthy again!" Verity smiled.

"Mm-hmm," Bonji nodded. "And that's the power of Ho-Oh!"

"Pikachu?" asked Ash, confidently.

"Ready!" Pikachu nodded as Ho-Oh landed on the ground.

"Ho-Oh, let's have a battle!" Ash declared.

"Yeah!" Pikachu agreed.

"Very well," Ho-Oh nodded before flying about. "I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!"

Ash and Pikachu soon got ready with Ho-Oh to begin a new battle.

"Oh, Akito, I'm so glad that we're all gonna be okay now." Emi smiled at the brown-haired boy.

"I'm glad too, Emi," Akito smiled back. "Especially for your family."

"You're so thoughtful." Emi beamed before she kissed his cheek.

Akito's eyes widened before he took off like a rocket at that and cheered for himself.

LJ rolled his eyes. "I respect you, but crikey, you're impossible..." he remarked with a smile. "See, Kim? Toldja everything would be okay!"

"Yeah... I'm glad it is too..." Kimberly smiled back. "I felt so scared for all of us."

"Well, it's justified, but I promised I'd have your back, and I always will!" LJ beamed as he hugged Kimberly.

"Oh, LJ." Kimberly beamed as she hugged him back.

"Aww..." Mal and Evie cooed over how cute that looked.

"Boy, this is one heckuva rumble, huh?" asked Gengar.

"Yeah, I reckon it is." Scraggy replied as Kimberly's egg began glowing even brighter as cracks began to form in the eggshell.

"Kim?" Zofia called.

"Yeah?" Kimberly asked.

"Don't be alarmed, but I think it's your turn to become a mama." Zofia informed.

Kimberly looked confused at first before gasping at her egg. "Oh, my gosh! You're right!"

As the perky girl picked up her egg, it cracked open, revealing a freshly-born Vulpix. It yawned and pawed at its muzzle.

"Aww... Look at you~..." Kimberly cooed with wide, cutesy eyes.

"Congratulations," Vincent told Kimberly. "It's a Vulpix."

"And I love Vulpix." Kimberly smiled.

"Does that technically make me the dad?" LJ asked, curiously.

"If you'd like to be." Kimberly blushed from that.

"Oh, LJ, we're parents" Kimberly beamed back as she hugged him.

Vulpix looked up at the two of them curiously.

"Hi!" LJ exclaimed, picking Vulpix up from the ground. "I guess you could consider us your mom and dad, huh?"

"Mama... Papa..." Vulpix then said like a baby saying their first words.

"Aww... I guess that's a yes!" Kimberly gushed.

And so she and LJ danced around gleefully as they were now technically parents. The others laughed a bit, but looked happy for the two. Vulpix looked up and all around.

* * *

"Looks like Ho-Oh and Ash are about to battle." Kimberly soon said.

"No kidding," LJ replied. "It's definitely the match-up of the century."

"This ought to be good." Emi remarked.

"I'm sure that it will be," Creepie said. "I'm still unsure about me raising a Pokemon in my house, but I really had fun on this journey. Thanks, Zo."

"But of course, Creepie," Zofia smiled. "You're my best friend."

"And you're mine." Creepie smiled back honestly.

And so, the group watched the battle play out above their heads.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash soon proclaimed.

Pikachu soon dropped down from Ash's shoulder as he got ready to battle Ho-Oh.

"All right!" Ash told his Pokemon. "Use Thunderbolt!"

"You got it!" Pikachu replied as he soon used Thunderbolt and hit Ho-Oh instantly.

Ho-Oh soon flew around from the attack before using some sort of fire attack back at Pikachu. Pikachu luckily hid behind a rock and missed the attack before it could hit him.

"Man, that was some attack." Estelle remarked as she flinched with the others.

"You're telling us..." Vincent replied as the fight played out.

Pikachu and Ho-Oh's attacks soon collided against each other's.

* * *

Eventually, after the battle ended and the sun was setting, everybody began to relax together to take it a little easy as they had quite the adventure together.

"Excuse me?" Ash called as he entered the nearest Pokemon Center first.

"Oh, my!" Nurse Joy called before she picked up Pikachu who smiled at her. "You were battling, weren't you? Who was it this time?" she then asked.

"It was Ho-Oh." Emi replied.

"That's nice..." Nurse Joy smiled as she nuzzled with Pikachu before she caught what was said. "What?"

Ash and Emi then laughed a little from that.

"Honestly, that was pretty wild," LJ smiled. "I never expected Pikachu to last so long against Ho-Oh."

"I hope it's okay that I took some pictures." Felicity said.

"I'm sure it's just fine." Mismagius smiled at her.

"And something tells me this is gonna be the start of a great new series of adventures for all of us." Zofia proclaimed.

"Aw, yeah!" The group exclaimed before laughing.

* * *

**_Somewhere else, far away..._ **

Bonji stared out into the landscape from where he sat as Marshadow seemed to watch him. "The atmosphere is crystal clear!" he soon monologued to himself. "Somewhere in the world, there's a new Trainer, soon to be the Rainbow Hero!" The very thought made him chuckle with glee. "Young men and women, live on!" he then beamed as Marshadow just floated there. "Just keep on living on! And if you do, a path will open for you! The future is bathed in a rainbow-colored light!"

Some time had passed and it looked like it was time to say goodbye.

"I'm going to get even stronger," Cross smirked at Ash. "And someday we'll battle again."

"Okay! And I'll give it everything I've got!" Ash replied.

"Me too!" Pikachu added.

"Just don't lose to anyone before then." Cross chuckled before waving at them and walking off.

"Well, we'll see." LJ smirked in response.

* * *

Soon, Ash, Verity, and Sorrel came to a crossroads of their own. And they'd be saying farewell to one another shortly.

"This is where our paths must part," Sorrel soon said. "I'm off to learn about the legends of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres."

"Nice," Creepie replied. "What about you, Verity?"

"I think I'm going to head on back home," Verity smiled. "I'd really like to see my mom!"

"Goodbye, Verity and Sorrel," Emi smiled. "It was really great to meet you both."

"We shall never forget this." Akito added.

"We have to split up?" Kimberly asked.

"It's the right thing to do." Mal suggested as she let Murkrow perch on her shoulder.

"Also, I suppose the others will do whatever makes them happy," LJ told Kimberly. "Besides, the lot of us are sticking together for the long run!"

"You said it!" Ash beamed. "Besides, I still have my own quest: to become a Pokemon Master!"

"I hope that we'll all meet again," Sorrel replied. "In the future."

Verity nodded at Sorrel, and then to Ash and the others. Ash and Emi both laughed from that with nods back at Verity as they wondered what the world would hold for them.

"Then we'll have a battle!" Ash, Emi, Verity, and Sorrel said together before they all laughed fondly from that.

Lucario smiled peacefully from that, Piplup looked excited and happy, and Pikachu was quite thrilled himself.

* * *

And so, it was time for the kids to split up as brand new adventures awaited for all of them.

"Too bad it couldn't work out for me and Verity," Jay remarked. "I'm sure we could've been happy."

"I think it's time you try talking to that Lonnie girl," Felicity said. "I think she likes you, even if she's better at sports than you." she then added with a giggle as Mal, Evie, and Carlos joined in on the laugh.

"Hmm... Maybe you're right, Flick." Jay firmly pouted, but he blushed as she crossed his arms.

LJ cleared his throat as they began walking away. "We'll meet again... Dunno where, dunno when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day~; Keep smiling through, just like you always do, 'till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away~; So will you please say hello, to the folks that I know? Tell them I won't be long, they'll be happy to know, that as you saw me go, I was singing this song~... So, we'll meet again... Dunno where, dunno when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day!~" he sang.

Kimberly beamed from LJ's singing.

"The always-fascinating world of Pokmon, the most diverse and unusual creatures on the planet," Drell narrated as he watched everything through his crystal ball as Ash and Emi started a new life together. "They can be found up in the sky, under the sea, in forests, and living in towns. One can see Pokemon in every corner of the world! People and Pokemon, forming all kinds of bonds, and living harmoniously in a world made just for them... And these young people, Ash and Emi Ketchum from Pallet town, together with their partner Pikachu, continue to work towards Ash's goal of becoming a Pokemon Master and maybe more in the future for Emi as she has a destiny waiting for her that she doesn't know about yet. And as many Pokemon, as there are, well, our heroes have just as many dreams to follow, and just as many adventures to come!" But that, my friends, is another story for another day.


	10. Chapter 10

Suddenly, the group was sent back home.

"Well, kids, are you still bored?" Cherry asked as she got off of the phone.

"...That was pretty exuberant." Zofia remarked after a big adventure like that.

"Oh, good." Cherry approved.

"It was a lot of fun, for sure!" LJ smiled. "And I can hardly wait for the next one!"

"I want you to say 'thank you' to Drell the next time you see him." Cherry prompted.

"We will." The young ones replied.

"Man, I'm wiped out from an adventure like that," Mal sighed. "But at least we busted our boredom."

"Yes, and I ordered plenty of pizza for all of us and I thought you kids might like some movies." Cherry then told them.

"Awesomeness!" exclaimed the group.

Cherry beamed a bit brightly from that. The group jumped together and almost ended in freeze-frame like the end of a group effort from an 80's movie or an old-time sitcom as their Pokemon joined them. Underneath them, the following words appeared:

**_Executive Producers:  
_ ** **_CHERRY BUTLER  
_ ** **_LIONEL W. SCHWARTZ_ **

* * *

The group sat together, though Akito wondered if he would ever see or talk to Emi again, he really hoped that he would as he looked like he was in love.

"Looks like he's in love," Thor smiled at Akito before looking at Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Felicity. "You kids talk with the cute boys and girls that you seem to like?"

The five teenagers looked bashful from that.

"I'm gonna invite them over some time," Thor smirked. "I wanna meet them and help get you kids off the ground. I know that Doug kid has marching band practice... Plus that Ben boy is the lead quarterback for the football team..."

"One story at a time, Thor." Cherry told him.

"Yeah, besides, this one's running thin as it is!" Lionel added.

"All right, all right," Thor smiled. "I just hope you kids remember to be responsible with your new pets."

"We will." The group promised as they relaxed in the living room with their Pokemon.

"Hmm... I think you are in need of a special name," Zofia said as she lifted up her Fennekin. "Fennekin is nice and all, but you should have a proper name... How about... Fiona?" she then suggested.

"Hmm... Fiona..." Fennekin replied before nodding. "Yeah... Yeah! I think I like that a lot."

"Fiona, huh?" Fishy Joe replied. "Pretty name for a pretty Poke-lady."

"Aww... Thank you!" Fiona beamed as she hopped on the floor to sit with him and the other Pokemon.

"Guys... This was a great adventure..." Akito smiled. "We should do it again sometime."

"So you can see Emi?" Estelle smirked.

"Hey!" Akito pouted while blushing at that.

"Well?" Estelle kept her smirk. "Am I right or am I wrong?"

"Hmm... Yeah... You might be right," Akito then said. "I think that I really like that Emi girl."

"Well, it doesn't take psychic powers to see that!" LJ chuckled.

Akito still looked bashful from that. They soon settled down with their movies and pizza as they had a new adventure experience as well as making some new friends who they hoped to see again really soon, but who knew when that would be? Until then, this is... 

The End


End file.
